As the excitement builds for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 mega auction, defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and last season’s runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have made strong statements by retaining the maximum number of five players each. According to ESPNcricinfo, these two franchises have locked in their core squads ahead of the highly anticipated auction, scheduled to take place in Delhi from November 26 to 29, 2025.
India’s World Cup-winning stars — Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, and Amanjot Kaur — have all been retained by their respective teams following India’s historic 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup triumph.
However, there were some surprising releases. Deepti Sharma, the Player of the Tournament from that World Cup, was released by UP Warriorz, while Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, and Amelia Kerr were also let go by their franchises. Other notable names not retained include Sophie Ecclestone, Renuka Singh Thakur, Laura Wolvaardt (the tournament’s leading run-scorer), and Phoebe Litchfield.
WPL 2026 Retained Players: Full List by Franchise
Delhi Capitals: Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Niki Prasad
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, Hayley Matthews
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil
Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney
UP Warriorz: Shweta Sehrawat
Under the updated retention policy, each WPL team can retain:
- Up to 3 capped Indian players
- Up to 2 overseas players
- Up to 2 uncapped Indian players
If a team retains all five players, at least one must be uncapped.
The retention price structure is as follows:
- ₹3.5 crore
- ₹2.5 crore
- ₹1.75 crore
- ₹1 crore
- ₹50 lakh
Each franchise has a base purse of ₹15 crore for the mega auction. The player registration deadline is November 18, and the final list will be released by the BCCI on November 20, as reported by Cricbuzz.
Remaining Purses and RTM Card Details
- Mumbai Indians / Delhi Capitals: Five players retained each; ₹9.25 crore spent. Remaining purse – ₹5.75 crore. No Right to Match (RTM) cards available.
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Four players retained; ₹8.75 crore spent. One RTM card available. Remaining purse – ₹6.25 crore.
- Gujarat Giants: Two overseas players retained; ₹6 crore spent. Three RTM cards available (for Indian players only). Remaining purse – ₹9 crore.
- UP Warriorz: Only uncapped Shweta Sehrawat retained for ₹50 lakh. Four RTM cards available. Remaining purse – ₹14.50 crore, the highest among all teams.
