A total of 63 cricketers, including 23 overseas players, have been retained by the five Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchises ahead of next month’s auction. The deadline for the franchises to announce their retentions for the fifth season ended on Monday.
Gujarat Giants retained 20 players, the most among the five teams. Unsurprisingly, Up Warriorz, given its wretched record in the tournament, retained the fewest at 15. It leaves Warriorz with a purse of ₹3.65 crore to spend on new signings.
Defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which won its second title in February this year, has kept hold of 13 players. It includes four overseas retentions, namely Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry.
While Perry is 35 and pulled out of RCB’s title-winning campaign due to personal reasons, the Australian star remains at the top of her game — she was part of her country’s T20 World Cup triumph in England in July. Among the players released by RCB is all-rounder Grace Harris, who scored two half-centuries in nine innings this year.
Delhi Capitals, which has finished runner-up across all four seasons, has also retained 13 members. The five overseas players that will continue to feature for DC are Annabel Sutherland, Chinelle Henry, Laura Wolvaardt, Lucy Hamilton and Marizanne Kapp. Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Lizelle Lee, who smashed 320 runs in 10 innings in 2026, has been released.
Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, has retained 11 players. The WPL auction will be held in Kochi on October 28.
Retained players: Delhi Capitals: Annabel Sutherland*, Chinelle Henry*, Deeya Yadav, Jemimah Rodriguez, Laura Wolvaardt*, Lucy Hamilton*, Mamatha Madiwala, Marizanne Kapp*, Minnu Mani, N Sree Charani, Nandni Sharma, Niki Prasad, Shafali Verma
Gujarat Giants: Anushka Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Bharti Fulmali, Georgia Wareham*, Happy Kumari, Jintimani Kalita, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvee Gautam, Kim Garth*, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine*, Tanuja Kanwer, Yastika Bhatia
Mumbai Indians: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Nat Sciver-Brunt*, Nicola Carey*, Rahila Firdous, Sajeevan Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail*, Vaishnavi Sharma
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Arundhati Reddy, Ellyse Perry*, Georgia Voll*, Lauren Bell*, Nadine De Klerk*, Pooja Vastrakar, Prathyoosha Kumar, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Sayali Satghare, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana
UP Warriorz: Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Meg Lanning*, Phoebe Litchfield*, Pratika Rawal, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone*, Tara Norris*
*Overseas players.
Salary cap available: DC: ₹1.1 crore; GG: ₹1.25 crore; MI: ₹1 crore; RCB: ₹1.15 crore; UPW: ₹3.65 crore.
Available slots: DC: 5 (1 overseas); GG: 3 (1); MI: 7 (1); RCB: 5 (2); UPW: 7 (2).
Published – September 28, 2026 08:20 pm IST
