India’s leading lights will be back in familiar colours when the Women’s Premier League resumes next year. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana headline the list of retained players, while several overseas stars – Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning and Amelia Kerr among them – will be up for grabs at the mega-auction in late November.
Five-player maximum reached by Capitals, Indians
Defending champions Mumbai Indians and last season’s runners-up Delhi Capitals have kept the full quota of five. Royal Challengers Bengaluru settled on four, Gujarat Giants on two and UP Warriorz on one.
Likely retentions
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
The figures behind the decisions
Each franchise went into the exercise with a ₹15 crore purse. Under WPL rules, retaining five players costs ₹9.25 crore, leaving Capitals and Indians ₹5.75 crore apiece to complete squads of 16-18. Bengaluru start the auction with ₹6.25 crore, Gujarat ₹9 crore and Warriorz a sizeable ₹14.5 crore.
The right-to-match (RTM) card, introduced for the first time, allows a side to buy back a released player once the bidding stops. Mumbai and Delhi, having kept five, have no RTMs available; Warriorz can use four, Giants three (Indians only) and RCB one.
Why some names were let go
Releasing Healy and Lanning frees up substantial funds for Warriorz and Capitals respectively, while Deepti Sharma – Player of the Series at the last World Cup – becomes one of the most attractive Indian options in the pool. The uncertainty around international availability also played a part, as one franchise analyst noted: “Overseas schedules are packed next year; flexibility in the purse is crucial.”
Player reaction
“It’s always special to keep the Mumbai core together,” Harmanpreet said in a short statement. Mandhana echoed the sentiment from Bengaluru: “We’ve built momentum; continuity matters.”
Expert view
Former India coach WV Raman believes Warriorz’ approach is shrewd. “Holding just one player sounds risky, yet it gives them room to correct 2025’s balance issues,” he told All India Radio. Analyst Snehal Pradhan expects hectic bidding on released all-rounders. “Kerr and Deepti offer three-dimensional skills; demand will push their prices well past the top retention slab,” she said.
What happens next
The auction is pencilled in for 27 November in Delhi. With roughly half the league’s first-choice XIs now unattached, plenty of reshaping lies ahead. As Kapp put it last season, “The WPL moves quickly – you’ve got to be ready.”
Key rules at a glance
• Maximum three capped Indians, two overseas, two uncapped Indians can be retained
• Five retentions require at least one uncapped Indian
• RTM can be used only on players from the 2025 squad
• Squads must total 16-18 players
Plenty of strategy still to unfold, then, but one point is already clear: the 2026 edition will again feature the familiar brilliance of Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Rodrigues and Verma – leaving rival coaches to work out how, or whether, to break their hold on the big moments.
