Franchises in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be allowed to retain a maximum of five players before the highly anticipated 2026 mega auction. The deadline for player retentions has been set for November 5, while the auction is scheduled to take place between November 25 and 29.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the WPL management informed teams via email on October 9 about the official retention and auction guidelines. Each franchise can retain up to three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. However, if a franchise opts to retain five cricketers, one must be an uncapped Indian player.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚,” 𝒂 𝑾𝑷𝑳 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝑻𝑴 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.”
Right-to-Match Option Introduced for the First Time
In a major development, the Right-to-Match (RTM) card will be introduced in WPL history, enabling teams to reacquire players from their 2025 squads during the auction. The auction purse has been set at INR 15 crore, and guideline prices for retained players are as follows:
- Player 1: INR 3.5 crore
- Player 2: INR 2.5 crore
- Player 3: INR 1.75 crore
- Player 4: INR 1 crore
- Player 5: INR 50 lakh
If a team retains five players, INR 9.25 crore will be deducted from its purse, while retaining fewer players allows for higher spending during the auction. For example, four retentions reduce the purse by INR 8.75 crore, three by INR 7.75 crore, two by INR 6 crore, and one by INR 3.5 crore.
Teams can negotiate different amounts with players, but any payment exceeding the guideline slab will be subtracted from their total purse.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝑻𝑴𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝑻𝑴 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.”
Key WPL 2026 Retention and Auction Deadlines
- The WPL has also shared important dates leading up to the event:
- Player retention list submission: November 5
- Auction list submission by franchises: November 7
- Last date for player registration: November 18
- Final player list announcement by BCCI: November 20
- Below are the official retention options for the upcoming season:
| Retention Option | Max Players Retained | RTM Available | Purse Deducted (INR Cr) | Purse Remaining (INR Cr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 0 | 9.25 | 5.75 |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 8.75 | 6.25 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 7.75 | 7.25 |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 6.00 | 9.00 |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 3.50 | 11.50 |
| 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15.00 |
Also Read: IPL 2026 Auction Expected in Mid-December, Player Retentions by November 15