As many as 277 players — 194 Indian and 83 overseas — are going under the hammer at the mega WPL auction on Thursday for the Women's Premier League 2026.
Five teams — UP Warriorz, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru — are looking to fill a maximum of 73 slots, including 50 Indians and 23 overseas. The minimum squad size is 15 and the upper limit is 18.
Seventeen players, including seven overseas, have been retained by the franchises. The five teams have a combined purse of Rs 41.1 crore going into the auction.
The bidding process kicked off with a marquee set of players, featuring eight of the world's premier cricketers — Deepti Sharma (India), Renuka Singh (India), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Meg Lanning (Australia), and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa).
Here is the full list of players bought in the WPL auction:
UP Warriorz
Deepti Sharma - Rs 3.2 crore
Shikha Pandey - Rs 2.4 crore
Meg Lanning - 1.9 crore
Phoebe Litchfield - Rs 1.2 crore
Asha Sobhana - Rs 1.1 crore
Sophie Ecclestone - Rs 85 lakh
Deandra Dottin - Rs 80 lakh
Harleen Deol - Rs 50 lakh
Kranti Gaud - Rs 50 lakh
Chloe Tryon - Rs 30 lakh
Shipra Giri - Rs 10 lakh
Simran Shaikh - Rs 10 lakh
Tara Norris - Rs 10 lakh
Suman Meena - Rs 10 lakh
Gujarat Giants
Sophie Devine - Rs 2 crore
Georgia Wareham - Rs 1 crore
Bharti Fulmali - Rs 70 lakh
Kashvee Gautam - Rs 65 lakh
Renuka Singh - Rs 60 lakh
Kim Garth - Rs 50 lakh
Yastika Bhatia - Rs 50 lakh
Tanuja Kanwer - Rs 45 lakh
Anushka Sharma - Rs 45 lakh
Titas Sadhu - Rs 30 lakh
Kanika Ahuja - Rs 30 lakh
Happy Kumari - Rs 10 lakh
Shivani Singh - Rs 10 lakh
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Lauren Bell - Rs 90 lakh
Pooja Vastrakar - Rs 85 lakh
Arundhati Reddy - Rs 75 lakh
Radha Yadav - Rs 65 lakh
Grace Harris - Rs 75 lakh
Nadine de Klerk - Rs 65 lakh
Georgia Voll - Rs 60 lakh
Linsey Smith - Rs 30 lakh
Prema Rawat - Rs 20 lakh
Gautami Naik - Rs 10 lakh
Delhi Capitals
Sree Charani - Rs 1.3 crore
Channelle Henry - Rs 1.3 crore
Laura Wolvaardt - Rs 1.1 crore
Sneh Rana - Rs 50 lakh
Taniyaa Bhatia - Rs 30 lakh
Lizelle Lee - Rs 30 lakh
Nandini Sharma - Rs 20 lakh
Deeya Yadav - Rs 10 lakh
Mamatha Madiwala - Rs 10 lakh
Lucy Hamilton - Rs 10 lakh
Mumbai Indians
Amelia Kerr - Rs 3 crore
Sajeevan Sajana - Rs 75 lakh
Shabnim Ismail - Rs 60 lakh
Nicola Carey - Rs 30 lakh
Sanskriti Gupta - Rs 20 lakh
Triveni Vasistha - Rs 20 lakh
Rahila Firdous - Rs 10 lakh
Poonam Khemnar - Rs 10 lakh
Nalla Reddy - Rs 10 lakh
The Women's Premier League 2026 will be held from Jan. 9 to Feb. 5 in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will host the opener. The BCA Stadium in Vadodara will host the final.
Having retained just one player, UP Warriorz have the maximum purse — Rs 14.5 crore — going into the auction, while Delhi Capitals have the least in pocket — Rs 5.7 crore. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, which retained five players each, will not have any right-to-match option available.
After winning the inaugural edition of the league back in 2023, Mumbai Indians regained the prized silverware earlier in the year as they beat Delhi Capitals in a close-fought final.
The 2026 edition of the WPL is expected to be grander and more exciting for fans amid the fervour of India's landmark victory at the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025.
(With PTI inputs)
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