The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced that the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction is scheduled for December 9 in Mumbai. Following a successful debut season, the WPL is set to return, potentially taking place in February-March, just ahead of the Men's Indian Premier League.
In the first season, the Mumbai Indians, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, emerged victorious, defeating the Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in the final at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The five franchises participating in the WPL—Mumbai, Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants, and UP Warriorz—have already revealed their retention lists. The auction will be a mini player's auction as the teams have finalized their retention lists, which include 60 players, including 21 overseas stars. Additionally, the franchises have released a total of 29 players from their contracts.
Here's a brief overview of the retained and released players for each franchise:
Delhi Capitals:
- Retained Players: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu.
- Released Players: Aparna Mondal, Jasia Akhter, Tara Norris.
Gujarat Giants:
- Retained Players: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer.
- Released Players: Annabel Sutherland, Ashwani Kumari, Georgia Wareham, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Sushma Verma.
Mumbai Indians:
- Retained Players: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia.
- Released Players: Dhara Gujjar, Heather Graham, Neelam Bisht, Sonam.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
- Retained Players: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine.
- Released Players: Dane Van Niekerk, Erin Burns, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar.
UP Warriorz:
- Retained Players: Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia Mcgrath.
- Released Players: Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail, Shivali Shinde, Simran Shaikh.
As for the rules governing the WPL auction:
- Each team is permitted to acquire a minimum of 15 players and a maximum of 18 players.
- The teams have a purse value of INR 12 crore (approximately USD 1.46 million).
- Each team has the option to include seven overseas players in the auction, including one from an Associate nation.
- During gameplay, teams can field up to five overseas players in their playing XI, with one player allowed from the Associate nation.
