WPL 2026 mega auction to take place today; Lanning, Deepti, Renuka, Wolvaardt among stars in focus

NEW DELHI: The Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction will take place on Thursday in the national capital with a total of 277 players going under the hammer, including 194 Indian players and 83 overseas players.

Out of 194 Indian players, 52 of them are capped, while 83 overseas players feature 66 capped players. The marquee players’ will open the day, featuring top names like the 2025 Women’s World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’ Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh from India, and New Zealand stars Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr.

England’s star spinner Sophie Ecclestone, Aussie legends Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning, the latter being the three-time runners-up with Delhi Capitals (DC) and 2025 Women’s World Cup leading run-getter Laura Wolvaardt. The youngest players in the auction are aged 16, Deeya Yadav and Bharati Singh, while former South African pacer Shabnim Ismail is the oldest at 37.

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Each franchise will be allowed to build a squad of upto 18 players. A total of 73 slots have to be filled, including 23 overseas slots, across five franchises, as per Olympics.com.

UP Warriorz, who just retained the uncapped Indian batter Shweta Sehrawat, will be entering the auction with the largest amount of money in their purse, four right-to-match (RTM) options and a massive rebuilding to do.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI), captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, and three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have retained the maximum quota of five players and have no RTM available.

DC also retained Shafali Varma and Jemimah Rodrigues, two young Indian batters who starred in India’s ICC Women’s World Cup title win, with standout performances in the knockout stages.

Gujarat Giants, who retained Australian stalwarts Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner, have purse of Rs nine crores, with 16 slots to fill, with four overseas names to get.

In these three seasons, WPL has seen some players getting massive bids, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana being the most expensive player in the tournament’s history, with Rs 3.4 crore shelled out on her ahead of the inaugural season. She led RCB to the title in the 2024 season and was one of the four players, including Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil, retained by the franchise.

In total, 17 players, including seven overseas players, were retained across all franchises, and they will have a combined purse of Rs 41.1 crore to spend at the auction. (ANI)