The Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction is set to take place on Thursday in New Delhi, featuring a total of 277 players, 194 Indian and 83 overseas. Among the Indian contingent, 52 players are capped, while 66 of the overseas players have international experience.
Marquee players and young talent in spotlight in the WPL auction
The auction will kick off with marquee players, including 2025 Women’s World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’ Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh from India, along with New Zealand stars Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr. England spinner Sophie Ecclestone, and Australian legends Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning are also in the marquee list, alongside Laura Wolvaardt, the 2025 World Cup leading run-scorer. The youngest players in the auction are 16-year-olds Deeya Yadav and Bharati Singh, while former South African pacer Shabnim Ismail, 37, is the oldest.
Each franchise can build a squad of up to 18 players. Across five franchises, 73 slots need to be filled, including 23 overseas positions, according to Olympics.com.
UP Warriorz, having retained uncapped Indian batter Shweta Sehrawat, will enter the auction with the largest purse, four right-to-match (RTM) options, and a significant rebuilding task ahead. Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI), led by Harmanpreet Kaur, and three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have retained the maximum quota of five players and do not have any RTM options.
DC also retained Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, both of whom played crucial roles in India’s ICC Women’s World Cup title win, especially in the knockout stages. Gujarat Giants have retained Australian stars Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner, with a remaining purse of Rs 9 crore to fill 16 slots, including four overseas players.
In the WPL’s first three seasons, some players have commanded massive bids. RCB captain Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive player in WPL history with a Rs 3.4 crore bid ahead of the inaugural season. She led RCB to the 2024 title and was among the four players, including Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, and Shreyanka Patil, retained by the franchise.
Across all franchises, 17 players, including seven overseas stars, were retained. The teams will have a combined total of Rs 41.1 crore to spend during the auction.
