The scheduling of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has been the talking point in the cricketing circles. With back-to-back games in the first phase of the tournament, players lack adequate rest as they often need to turn up on consecutive days.
UP Warriorz finds itself in such a situation when it faces Mumbai Indians at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Thursday. The Meg Lanning-led side featured in a group league fixture against Delhi Capitals the night before, and the players don’t have any time to rest up, recover and start afresh.
Warriorz’ mentor Lisa Sthalekar downplayed the issue, saying that given that all the sides are on the same boat since it’s a five-team affair.
“With five teams, it makes it hard, doesn’t it? And if you want to generate interest in the tournament, you want games every night. That means, and to be fair, it’s across all five teams (who) have double-headers. So it’s not like one or two teams are disadvantaged,” Sthalekar said, adding, “Everyone has to deal with it. Until we see more teams that will allow that rest to occur, this is just part of the game…”
But it’s easier said than done.
While physical fitness is one aspect, handling the mental side of things is another major factor, and it will be a challenge for the Warriorz to shrug off the disappointment of a defeat against the Capitals and bounce back against a star-studded Mumbai.
Over the last couple of games, the Warriorz have struggled in the middle overs, have started quite slow, and have continued experimenting with the opening partnership.
While captain Lanning has spearheaded the batting unit, the others, especially the Indian players in the middle order, have been anything but consistent.
With the competition getting tougher, the Warriorz team management needs to address the issue, and also rejig the bowling line-up a bit.
On the other hand, coming on the back of a convincing win against Gujarat Giants, Mumbai will be hoping to keep the momentum going. Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper, has struck form with two consecutive fifties, but the youngsters will also need to step up and be more consistent.
After a defeat early on, Mumbai bounced back in style, and having enjoyed a day’s break in between, it will turn up fresh and ready to keep things going.
Despite no spectators allowed due to local municipal elections, the teams will look to make some noise.
Published on Jan 15, 2026
Comments are closed.