Following is a list of players retained and released by each franchise. Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 The mega auction on Thursday brought many surprises. Whereas Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma And jemima rodrigues Among the big names retained by their respective teams, some franchises made bold moves.
The 2026 auction will include revised retention rules, with each franchise entering the auction with a purse of Rs 15 crore (depending on the remaining purse after retention). As per the new system, Right-to-Match (RTM) cards will also be introduced for the first time, adding strategic depth to the bidding process. This revelation came just weeks after India became historic win women’s odi world cup 2025Setting the stage for a high-interest auction in New Delhi on November 27.
Key players released ahead of WPL 2026 mega auction
The retention process led to the strategic release of some of the biggest names in women’s cricket, setting the stage for an unprecedented bidding war in the mega auction. Delhi Capitals took the most shocking step by releasing their charismatic and highly respected captain. meg lanningSimilarly, UP Warriors opted for an overhaul of the team, releasing their captain. Alyssa HealyWith the world number 1 spinner Sophie Ecclestone and World Cup ‘Player of the Tournament’ Deepti Sharma,
This mass release gives UPW the biggest purse (INR 14.5 crore) and four RTM cards, making them the most aggressive team in the auction. defending champion Mumbai Indians They were forced to sacrifice the services of the star all-rounder amelia kerr And India’s seam bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar Due to retention limit. At the end, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) And Gujarat Giants (GG) Added to the auction pool by releasing high-value players such as Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh Thakur And Laura WolvaardtBoth teams have retained RTM cards to potentially buy back their released Indian talent.
Also read: WPL 2026 Retention: Complete list of retained players ahead of Women’s Premier League mega auction
Full list of players released ahead of Women’s Premier League 2026 mega auction
1. UP Warriors (UPW)
UP Warriors chose the most radical approach, releasing 16 players to enter the mega auction with the highest purse (INR 14.5 crore) and four RTM cards. Their release list is headlined by two star captains: the opening batsman Alyssa Healy And India’s top all-rounder, World Cup Player of the Tournament, Deepti SharmaThey also let go of the world No. 1 T20I bowler, Sophie Ecclestoneand power-hitter grace harrisThe move signals a change in the entire squad, and they are expected to make aggressive bids for Deepti Sharma and Grace Harris by using their RTM cards.
| player name | nationality | leading role |
| Alyssa Healy | Australia | wicketkeeper/opening batsman |
| Deepti Sharma | India | all-rounder |
| Sophie Ecclestone | England | Bowler (SLA) |
| grace harris | Australia | batter |
| Tahlia McGrath | Australia | all-rounder |
| Kiran Navgire | India | batter |
| Anjali Sarwani | India | bowler |
| Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka | all-rounder |
| Rajeshwari Gaikwad | India | bowler |
| Vrinda Dinesh | India | batter |
| Poonam Khemnar | India | all-rounder |
| Saima Thakor | India | all-rounder |
| Gauhar Sultana | India | bowler |
| Kranti Gaur | India | batter |
| Aarushi Goyal | India | batter |
| alana king | Australia | Bowler (Leg-Spin) |
| chenille henry | west indies | all-rounder |
2. Delhi Capitals (DC)
Delhi Capitals made one of the most shocking headlines of the retention window by releasing their highly successful captain. meg lanningDue to a maximum retention limit of five players they were forced to release him along with two other high-value foreign stars: the young explosive all-rounder Alice Capsey and experienced left-arm spinner Jess JonassenThis leaves DC with a strong core but a critical need for a new captain/leader in the auction.
| player name | nationality | leading role |
| meg lanning | Australia | batsman/captain |
| Alice Capsey | England | all-rounder |
| Jess Jonassen | Australia | all-rounder |
| Radha Yadav | India | Bowler (SLA) |
| Arundhati Reddy | India | all-rounder |
| meenu mani | India | all-rounder |
| Shikha Pandey | India | bowler (speed) |
| Sneha Deepti | India | batter |
| Tanya Bhatia | India | wicket keeper |
| titas sadhu | India | bowler (speed) |
| N Sri Charani | India | bowler |
| Nandini Kashyap | India | batter |
| sarah bryce | scotland | wicket keeper |
3.Mumbai Indians (MI)
The defending champions kept a solid core of five players but had to make tough decisions due to the maximum two-foreign player retention rule. This led to the release of two key match-winners: New Zealand’s star leg-spinning all-rounder amelia kerrAnd India’s seam-bowling all-rounder Pooja VastrakarHis release, along with the pace legend Shabnim IsmailThis ensures that there is high quality available in the auction pool, although MI does not have any RTM cards to back any of them.
| player name | nationality | leading role |
| amelia kerr | new zealand | all-rounder |
| Pooja Vastrakar | India | all-rounder |
| chloe tryon | South Africa | all-rounder |
| Jintimani Kalita | India | bowler |
| Saika Ishaq | India | bowler |
| Yastika Bhatia | India | wicketkeeper/batsman |
| Shabnim Ismail | South Africa | bowler (speed) |
| S Sajna | India | all-rounder |
| Amandeep Kaur | India | bowler |
| Keerthan Balakrishnan | India | bowler |
| Nadine de Klerk | South Africa | all-rounder |
| Sanskriti Gupta | India | bowler |
| Akshita Maheshwari | India | bowler |
| Parunika Sisodia | India | bowler |
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
RCB retained a strong four-player core but released several high-value assets. The most important thing is that they released New Zealand’s explosive all-rounder Sophie Devine And India’s leading fast bowler, Renuka Singh ThakurTheir decision to retain only four players secured them an RTM card, which they will use to bring back a key Indian player like Renuka Singh.
| player name | nationality | leading role |
| Renuka Singh Thakur | India | bowler (speed) |
| Sophie Devine | new zealand | all-rounder |
| Sophie Molineux | Australia | all-rounder |
| Sabbineni Meghna | India | batter |
| Georgia Wareham | Australia | Bowler (Leg-Spin) |
| Ekta Bisht | India | Bowler (SLA) |
| Kanika Ahuja | India | all-rounder |
| heather graham | Australia | all-rounder |
| kim garth | Australia | all-rounder |
| Charlie Dean | England | all-rounder |
| Nuzhat Parveen | India | wicket keeper |
| Prema Rawat | India | bowler |
| Joshita VJ | India | batter |
| Jagravi Pawar | India | all-rounder |
| Raghavi Bisht | India | all-rounder |
| kate cross | England | bowler (speed) |
| Asha Shobhana | India | all-rounder |
| Danny Wyatt-Hodge | England | batter |
5. Gujarat Giants (GG)
Gujarat Giants adopted a minimal retention strategy, keeping only two star Australians: Beth Mooney and Ashley Gardner. This leaves him with a significant purse (INR 9.0 Cr) and a maximum of three RTM cards (for Indian players). Their released players also include South Africa’s top batsmen Laura Wolvaardtaustralia’s young gun Phoebe Lichfieldand leading Indian players like Harleen Deol And the most expensive uncapped player of 2024, Kashvi GautamThey are expected to aggressively use their RTM to reconstruct their Indian origins.
| player name | nationality | leading role |
| Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa | batter |
| Phoebe Lichfield | Australia | batter |
| Harleen Deol | India | all-rounder |
| Kashvi Gautam | India | bowler (speed) |
| Dayalan Hemlata | India | all-rounder |
| Shabnam Shakeel | India | bowler |
| Tanuja Kanwar | India | all-rounder |
| Meghna Singh | India | bowler (speed) |
| Priya Mishra | India | bowler |
| Mannat Kashyap | India | bowler |
| Sayali Satgare | India | all-rounder |
| Simran Shaikh | India | batter |
| deandra dotin | west indies | all-rounder |
| Prakasika Naik | India | bowler |
| Danielle Gibson | England | all-rounder |
See also: Harleen Deol jokingly asked PM Narendra Modi about his skincare secret, she got a funny answer
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.