The cricketing world is eagerly awaiting the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 player retention list, which is slated for release on Thursday. The announcement is timed to follow the fourth T20 international between India and Australia in Gold Coast, Queensland. All five WPL franchises have reportedly met the Wednesday deadline for submitting their final lists of retained players, setting the stage for a compelling mega auction.
This year’s mega auction, scheduled for November 27th in New Delhi, will see a significant reshuffle of talent. Each team is permitted to retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two international stars, and two uncapped Indian players. A key rule states that if a franchise retains five players, at least one must be an uncapped Indian. The auction purse stands at INR 15 crore, with specific salary brackets for retained players: INR 3.5 crore, INR 2.5 crore, INR 1.75 crore, INR 1 crore, and INR 50 lakh. The Right to Match (RTM) option provides a pathway for teams to keep players from their 2025 squads, limited to five RTMs per team. The financial implications for franchises vary based on retention numbers, with INR 9.25 crore deducted for retaining five players and INR 3.5 crore for retaining one. The number of RTMs will be inversely proportional to the number of players retained, and full retentions eliminate RTM options.