Deepti, Wolvaardt, Ecclestone, and Healy to headline the start of the WPL 2026 major auction
WPL: Deepti, Wolvaardt, Ecclestone, and Healy to headline the start of the WPL 2026 major auction
WPL 2026 auction: BCCI has narrowed down a list of 277 players. There are 73 available player slots across five teams. The auction is set to occur on November 27 in New Delhi.
Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh are the two Indian players included in the marquee set that will kick off the WPL 2026 auction. They’ll be joined by international stars Sophie Devine, Sophie Ecclestone, Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Amelia Kerr, and Laura Wolvaardt.
Among these eight marquee players, only Renuka (INR 40 lakh) and Wolvaardt (INR 30 lakh) have set their base price below the maximum of INR 50 lakh.
In total, 277 players have registered for the auction, which will be held on November 27 in Delhi. There are 73 slots available, including 23 for overseas players, with 83 international names in the mix.
Three marquee players Deepti, Ecclestone, and Healy have previously played for UP Warriorz (UPW). UPW have four Right to Match (RTM) cards and has only retained one uncapped player, Shweta Sehrawat.
From Australia, Tahlia McGrath (UPW) and Sophie Molineux (RCB) are not part of the 23-player list. The overseas pool also includes 22 players from England, 13 from New Zealand, and 11 from South Africa. Sri Lanka has three players: Chamari Athapaththu, Harshitha Samarawickrama, and Inoka Ranaweera. Athapaththu played for UPW last season. Bangladesh has three players too Marufa Akter, Shorna Akter, and Rabeya Khan all listed at INR 30 lakh.
Harleen Deol, who played for Gujarat Giants (GG) in the first three seasons, has listed herself in the top bracket of INR 50 lakh under the capped all-rounders category. Her GG teammate, Phoebe Litchfield from Australia, also has a base price of INR 50 lakh. However, since GG have already retained two overseas players (Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner), they can’t use an RTM for Litchfield.
Other notable names in the capped all-rounders set include Radha Yadav, Sneh Rana, Grace Harris, Chinelle Henry, and N Shree Charani all with a base price of INR 30 lakh, except for Harleen.
Uma Chetry from Assam, who was India’s back-up wicketkeeper during their World Cup win, and Kranti Gaud, who has played for UPW, have both listed themselves at INR 50 lakh. In the spinners’ set (Set 6), we have Alana King (INR 40 lakh), Asha Sobhana, Priya Mishra, and Saika Ishaque (all INR 30 lakh). Saika was part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the first three seasons.
Thipatcha Putthawong is the only player from Thailand, while Tara Norris who played for Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2023 and was the first to take a five-wicket haul in WPL is the only player from the USA.
From the UAE, Esha Oza and Theertha Satish are the two players listed. There are no players from Ireland or Scotland this time. Sarah Bryce, who played for DC last season, is not part of the list.
Heading into the auction, UPW have the biggest purse with INR 14.50 crore, followed by GG (INR 9 crore), RCB (INR 6.15 crore), MI (INR 5.75 crore), and DC (INR 5.70 crore). Since MI and DC have already retained five players each, they won’t have any RTM options available.