The stage is set for the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) with the player retention list due to be unveiled on Thursday. This significant announcement will come shortly after the conclusion of the fourth T20 international between India and Australia, being played in Gold Coast. All five WPL franchises have adhered to the Wednesday deadline, submitting their finalized lists of players they wish to retain for the upcoming season. The retention decisions are expected to feature many leading names, while a host of other talented cricketers will head to the mega auction, scheduled for November 27th in New Delhi. This marks a crucial period as teams strategically plan their squads.
Information from sources familiar with the situation indicates that the official WPL retention announcements will be made public once the men’s T20I game between India and Australia concludes. Each franchise is permitted to retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. An important stipulation states that if a team chooses to retain five players, at least one must be an uncapped Indian player. The auction purse for each franchise has been set at INR 15 crore.
The WPL has established specific financial slabs for player retentions: INR 3.5 crore for the primary retained player, INR 2.5 crore for the second, INR 1.75 crore for the third, INR 1 crore for the fourth, and INR 50 lakh for the fifth. The Right to Match (RTM) option offers franchises the ability to re-sign players from their 2025 WPL squads, with a maximum of five RTMs allowed per team. The deductions from the auction purse are dependent on the number of players retained, ranging from INR 9.25 crore for five players down to INR 3.5 crore for a single player. The number of RTMs available will be higher for teams that retain fewer players, and teams that utilize all five retention slots will forfeit their RTM options entirely.