Luke Williams has been appointed by the Mumbai Indians to coach their Women’s team for the upcoming 2027 WPL season. Previously, Williams coached RCB women’s team to their maiden WPL title in 2024. He replaces the outgoing Lisa Keightley.

Former Aussie cricketer Luke Williams has been officially appointed by the Mumbai Indians as the new Head Coach for their women’s team in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) ahead of the 2027 season. Williams has previously coached the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women’s team and led the side to their maiden WPL title in 2024. The franchise made the official announcement on the 24th of September, 2026, by welcoming the championship-winning coach to the MI family. Williams takes over his coaching charges from Lisa Keightley, who chose to step down after one season following her appointment as Cricket Australia’s National Development Lead.

Bringing experience, ambition & a champion mindset to our MI family 💪💙

Paltan, join us in welcoming our new women’s team Head Coach, Luke Williams! 🤝

Read full story: https://t.co/xUYISgb9Pd https://t.co/02LGt7GZcM

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 24, 2026

Following his appointment as the head coach of the Mumbai Indians women’s team for the 2027 WPL, Williams has expressed his excitement of coaching the Mumbai side. “I’m really excited to be joining Mumbai Indians, a respected and successful organisation… We have a great opportunity to build something together, play an exciting brand of cricket and compete for success,” he said. Williams will bring an elite champion pedigree to Mumbai Indians as he has previously coached the arch rivals of MI, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to their maiden WPL title in 2024. He was appointed as the RCB women’s head coach in 2023.

As a coach, till date, Luke Williams has won 4 major T20 league championship trophies across the global women’s cricket circuit. Besides winning with the RCB, he has won the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) back to back two times with the Adelaide Strikers in 2022 and 2023. He also won The Hundred (Women’s) competition with the Southern Brave, while being their assistant coach in 2023. This was the team’s maiden title.

Williams replaced the outgoing Lisa Keightley. The management expressed their gratitude to outgoing coach Lisa Keightley for her contributions and welcomed Williams’ tactical acumen and experience as they prepare for the upcoming WPL auction and 2027 campaign.

Lisa Keightley’s tenure in MI

Lisa Keightley served as the Head Coach of the Mumbai Indians women’s team in WPL 2026. She was appointed on the 25th of September, 2025, ahead of the WPL 2026 season to replace Charlotte Edwards, who had departed the franchise to become the head coach of the England Women’s national team. Upon hiring her, MI owner Nita Ambani welcomed her as a “trailblazer in women’s cricket,” citing her incredible pedigree as a two-time World Cup-winning player for Australia and her extensive global coaching career. Under Keightley’s guidance, MI won just 3 matches and finished 4th in the five-team league table.

This marked the first time in WPL history that Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for the playoffs, having previously won championships in 2023 and 2025. Keightley chose to step down from her position after accepting a major foundational role back home with Cricket Australia (CA) as their National Development Lead. This role, which she officially started on the 10th of September, 2026, focuses heavily on discovering and nurturing the next generation of top-tier Australian women’s cricket talent. While she moved on from her WPL duties, she signed a two-year extension to remain the head coach of the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).