New Delhi: The five Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchises are set for a revamp. According to an ESPNcricinfo report, the Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) has decided to hold a mega auction in November ahead of the 2026 season.
All the franchises are awaiting confirmation from the WPL on the number of retentions, the auction purse, the retention slabs and how many right-to-match (RTM) card options would be available during the auction.
These decisions will be finalised by the WPL committee, but there is no confirmation of the meeting. The dates for the 2026 season are yet to be announced; however, the BCCI had indicated earlier that the tournament would be held in the January-February window.
The five-team tournament was launched in 2023 with the Mumbai Indians emerging as the inaugural champions. They are also the defending champions, while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the title in 2024.
MI, RCB and DC against mega auction
Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals are against the mega auction. All three franchises reasoned that they have worked hard to build their team over the last three years, and asking them to dismantle it just when the WPL is getting established could prove to be counter-productive.
However, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz are in support of a mega auction. Both these teams have never qualified for the final and are keen to change their squads and rebuild.
For theIPL mega auction in 2025, each of the 10 franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of six players through a combination of retention and RTM. The six would comprise a maximum of five capped players (Indian/overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped Indian players.
The WPL has been viewed as a big game-changer for women’s cricket, especially because of the financial advantages for players. In 2023, Viacom 18 (now Jiostar) bought the WPL broadcast rights for Rs 951 crore (USD 116.7 million approx.) for the period 2023 to 2027.
