The five franchises in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) are preparing for a big change. The BCCI is planning a mega auction for the 2026 season. Franchises have been informed informally about the auction. It is expected to be held by the end of November.
Teams are waiting for official news from the WPL. They want details on player retention, the auction purse, retention slabs, and the number of right-to-match (RTM) cards. According to ESPNcricinfo, the WPL committee will finalize these decisions. The date for the meeting has not been announced yet.
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The dates for WPL 2026 are also not confirmed. However, the BCCI has said the tournament will likely happen in the January-February window. The five-team WPL started in 2023. Mumbai Indians won the first title. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won in 2024.
It is understood that three franchises – Mumbai Indians, RCB, and Delhi Capitals – were not in favour of a mega auction. These teams, losing finalists in the past three seasons, argued that breaking their squads would waste their effort in building them.
On the other hand, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz support the mega auction. These teams have not reached a final yet. They see the auction as a chance to rebuild their squads. A WPL official said, “while they understood the reservations of the three opposing franchises, it was important to have five competitive teams, as an imbalance could harm the league’s brand.”
The official also added that teams like RCB have shown in the IPL that they can create a strong brand identity even without retaining all players. The WPL will also allow teams to keep some core players.
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Reports suggest some teams want to retain six or seven players. But the WPL may allow only five retention. Retention rules will also decide how many RTM cards each team can use and the mix of capped and uncapped players.
In the IPL 2025 mega auction, teams could retain up to six players. This included up to five capped players and up to two uncapped Indian players. RTM allows a team to buy back a player by matching the highest bid after the auction. The RTM rule has never been used in WPL auctions.
The WPL has been called a game-changer in women’s cricket. It gives financial benefits to players. In 2023, Viacom18 bought WPL broadcast rights for INR 951 crore. Smriti Mandhana remains the most expensive player, bought for INR 3.2 crore in the 2023 auction.
