Former India player Saba Karim said that fans will see “much better leadership skills” from UP Warriorz (UPW) captain Meg Lanning in the upcoming WPL games. The ongoing WPL 2026 season marked a fresh start for the franchise, but it did not begin on a positive note as Lanning’s side lost their first three matches consecutively.
However, UPW bounced back strongly by registering two back-to-back wins against the defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI). They now sit third on the points table with four points from five games and a net run rate of -0.483. Ahead of their clash against Gujarat Giants (GG) on January 22 in Vadodara, Karim shared his views on Lanning’s captaincy during a Media Day, organised by JioStar.
Responding to a question on Lanning’s leadership, the JioStar expert said that captaining a new team is always challenging for a foreign player and that it takes time to understand the domestic setup.
“For any foreign captain, including Meg Lenning, the biggest challenge for them, especially when they get to lead a new team, is to understand the domestic capped and uncapped players. And that takes some time. So, I think with Meg Lenning, I can see a similar kind of a scenario. That is why she has taken some more time.”
Karim further explained that in such situations, the role of Indian members in the team management becomes crucial in helping foreign captains understand local players and their abilities.
“Till then, as a foreign captain, you have to lean on the Indian team management to offer you inputs and advice. And then follow your own instincts. I think for the first two or three games, Meg Lenning did that. And I think because of that, Meg Lenning was not able to use her resources properly.”
The former wicketkeeper-batter also praised Lanning for the decisions she made in the last two matches, which resulted in victories. He believes that Lanning has now started to understand her players better and is using them more effectively.
“But I think post the third game, I can see a shift now in her in the way she has been started to utilize the resources. That is why you if you notice Deepti Sharma and Sophia Eccleston were given a ball in the sixth or before the 10th over. And that was a good move from Meg Lenning. I think slowly, she has been able to understand all those individuals who are there and all the squad members. And she has been able to use them quite well,” he said.
“I think as we head more into this tournament, you will see a much better leadership skills from Meg Lenning because I feel that now she has understood the individual skills of all the players that she has in her side. And she has able to use those players quite well,” he concluded.
Also Read: GG vs UPW, WPL 2026: Pressure on Gujarat Giants as they take on resurgent UP Warriorz
