It is time for UP Warriorz to hand captaincy to Deepti Sharma: Veda Krishnamurthy

Veda Krishnamurthy has advocated for Deepti Sharma to assume the captaincy of UP Warriorz for the WPL (Women's Premier League) 2027 season. The former India batter made her case during a discussion on the franchise's squad composition and leadership structure following the auction.

Krishnamurthy suggested that the franchise should prioritise an Indian player for the leadership role, citing the strategic benefits such a move would bring to team balance and squad selection.

"I am a big fan of having an Indian player as captain. That solves a lot of problems when you talk about the overseas combination. When you have Deepti Sharma, who has been there for four years, I honestly feel it is time for UP Warriorz to think in that direction. They can say that Deepti is the captain," Krishnamurthy said while speaking on the JioStar's 'Match Centre Live Auction Special'.

Why an Indian captain makes sense for UP Warriorz?

Deepti's four-year association with UP Warriorz positions her as a natural choice for leadership, according to Krishnamurthy. The franchise would not need to sacrifice squad balance or playing XI flexibility if an Indian captain led the side, she argued.

Krishnamurthy acknowledged that Meg Lanning could play a supporting role in the leadership structure without necessarily holding the captaincy. This arrangement would allow UP Warriorz to select their best available players without the constraint of automatically including an overseas captain in the playing XI.

"You always have Meg Lanning there, who can probably guide her. It doesn't have to be Meg Lanning as captain. It can be Deepti Sharma as captain, with Meg Lanning helping her along. That probably solves a lot of problems because then you can look at the best possible options you would want in your playing XI," Krishnamurthy said.

"If you feel that Meg Lanning might not feature, considering that she has not been playing international cricket of late and has only been playing franchise leagues, it makes things a lot easier. If you have an overseas player the captain, you are bound to play them in the XI. That unsettles things a little bit if they are not in form," she added.

UP Warriorz entered the WPL 2027 auction with the largest purse available and used it to strengthen their squad significantly. The franchise added Sophie Molineux, Grace Harris, Sneh Rana, Sushma Verma and Kathryn Bryce among their new acquisitions.