New Delhi: The Women’s Premier League is gearing up for its biggest auction yet. The first-ever WPL mega auction will take place on Thursday, November 27, in Delhi. The event will kick off at 3:30 PM IST. With the Indian women’s team recently lifting the World Cup, the buzz around this auction is louder than ever as franchises look to rebuild, refresh and chase glory in the upcoming 2026 season.
The full tournament schedule will be released after the auction but organisers have already locked January 2026 as the window for the league. league. Vadodara and Navi Mumbai are frontrunners to host the matches this time.
Five franchises, big budget decisions
Just like previous editions, five teams will be in the auction room- Mumbai Indians Women, Delhi Capitals Women, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants. These teams together can seal 73 slots with 50 for Indian players and 23 for overseas signings. Each squad must have at least 15 players and can go up to a maximum of 18.
UP Warrioz will enter the auction with the biggest purse of ₹14.5 crore after releasing a major chunk of their squad. Delhi Capitals, who kept most of their core, have the lowest remaining purse at ₹5.70 crore, leaving them very little flexibility. Interestingly, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals will not have the Right To Match card available this year after retaining five players each.
Big names under hammer
A total of 277 players including 194 Indian and 83 overseas will go under the hammer. The marquee list is packed with global stars including Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Ecclestone, Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt. These players headline the top bracket where the highest base price is ₹50 lakh.
Smriti Mandhana still holds the record as the most expensive buy in WPL history at ₹3.40 crore. With a bigger auction and more aggressive purse strategies expected many believe that record could finally be broken.
WPL 2026 Retained players
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil
Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Niki Prasad
UP Warriorz: Shweta Sehrawat
Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney
Where to watch WPL 2026 Mega Auction
The WPL 2026 mega auction will broadcast live on Star Sports Network. Those watching online can stream it on the JioHotstar app and website. Coverage begins at 2:30 PM IST, an hour before the first name is called.
With rising popularity, huge stakes and world cricket’s biggest names in the mix, WPL 2026 promises to deliver drama right from the auction table. The countdown has begun as the tournament will begin earlier than usual because of the Men’s T20 World Cup, which is set to start on February 7 and will end on March 8. After which, we have IPL, so the 2026 WPL will be held in January.