Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz have the most spots to fill in their teams at the TATA WPL 2027 Auction. Both teams will look to pick good players and try to win the title in the fifth season.
Speaking on JioStar’s Game Plan, expert Reema Malhotra shared which players Mumbai Indians should pick, why they should choose wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma, and which parts of their team, UP Warriorz, need to make stronger.
Reema Malhotra shared her views on Mumbai Indians’ plans for the auction and why they should pick Sushma Verma at the mini-auction.
“The best thing for Mumbai Indians is that they head into the auction with the least money, which means the least problems. They have retained their core group but need to sort out a few problems. One major problem is their opening pair. Last season, G Kamalini opened with Hayley Matthews, then Amelia Kerr was tried as an opener as well.”
“They kept changing their opening pair, and now they head into the auction looking to solve that. By letting go of G Kamalini, they lost their wicketkeeper batter, and they let go of Saika Ishaque too, so they are also on the hunt for a spinner to partner Vaishnavi Sharma. To solve the problem of an opening batter who can keep wickets, Mumbai Indians should go after Sushma Verma. She had an amazing domestic season with the bat and performed well in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League too. Plus, she was called for trials by the MI team management, and I feel Mumbai are going to go big for Sushma Verma in the mini-auction,” she added.
Reema Malhotra opens up on Mumbai Indian’s all-rounder options in WPL 2027. “Mumbai Indians will surely back Amanjot Kaur as the all-rounder. She’s a three-dimensional player and someone who’s not replaceable. She’s been the star of the team for the last two seasons, so I find no reason for her exclusion from the team.”
“They have invested a lot in S Sajana over the last three years, so she is likely to retain her spot in the playing XI, unless they pick a dynamic finisher or an Indian batter who can replace her, which can be Shweta Sehrawat. She had a good domestic season and UP Warriorz have released her this time. So, Mumbai will keep an eye on her as well,” she added.
Reema Malhotra on the areas UP Warriorz need to improve before the TATA WPL 2027 auction. “UP Warriorz have retained Pratika Rawal, which means she’s in their scheme of things, but I wouldn’t want Pratika to open the innings because she has a similar playing style to Meg Lanning. Both take their time to get going, which would hurt the Warriorz because two players of a similar style should not open together.”
“Then comes Phoebe Litchfield at number three, but if you make her open and let Pratika bat at three, that would not work either because after her come Harleen Deol and Deepti Sharma, and both are similar style of players as Pratika, so that option is closed too. So, UP Warriorz need an Indian opener who bats aggressively and has that attacking intent from the first ball. Apart from that, between Harleen and Deepti, you need one more big-hitter. Another problem they need to address is that of a wicketkeeper. Yes, Phoebe Litchfield can keep wickets, but having an Indian wicketkeeping option is always beneficial, and someone like G Kamalini would be a perfect option for UPW.”