New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- If there was ever a golden hour for women's cricket in India, it is now. India's ODI World Cup triumph has ignited a new wave of belief among the players and the Women's Premier League continues to be the beneficiary of this upsurge in popularity. For franchise owners like Jinisha Sharma - director of Capri Sports, parent company of UP Warriorz - the moment feels perfectly aligned with the growth objectives of WPL teams. Warriorz's results haven't gone according to plan in the first three years of WPL. However, this year with the mega auction they appear intent on turning things around. Ahead of the auction last month, they acquired the services of Abhishek Nayar as head coach and provided him with a clean state to build the squad from scratch which can become a serious contender for the title. "With Abhishek, we always felt that the moment we could get a strong Indian coach, we would," Sharma told HT. "But it wasn't easy.we had to wait for the right moment. After season three, with the mega auction coming, a new coach made sense to set the tone." Warriorz, who headed into the auction with the biggest purse (Rs.14.5 Cr), returned with the most expensive buy in Deepti Sharma (Rs.3.2 Cr) and also built one of the strongest squads among the five teams. Warriors, third in the first WPL season (2023), ended fourth in 2024 and last this year. The new squad includes World Cup player of the series Deepti, Kranti Gaud and Harleen Deol, Meg Lanning, Shikha Pandey and Sophie Ecclestone. It helps that Warriorz continue to possess the services of Lisa Sthalekar as a team mentor for a franchise looking to rebuild and become title contenders. "From a women's cricket perspective, she has seen the sport closely. As a player who has won multiple World Cups and through her commentary career. Her role has been important since the first season as it helped the new owners bridge the gap, especially with overseas players coming into an Indian franchise setup for the first time."...