The Women’s Premier League (WPL) will hold its first big auction for the 2026 season between November 26 and 29. The BCCI has asked the franchises to finalise their retention list by November 5. Each WPL team can retain up to five players before the auction starts. These can include a maximum of three experienced Indian players, up to two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. If a team keeps five players, at least one must be an uncapped Indian.
All teams have a budget of INR 15 crore to spend at the auction. The cost for keeping players varies: retaining the first player costs INR 3.5 crore, the second costs INR 2.5 crore, the third costs INR 1.75 crore, the fourth costs INR 1 crore, and the fifth costs INR 50 lakh. If a team keeps all five allowed players, INR 9.25 crore will be used from their INR 15 crore budget, giving them less money to buy new players at the auction.
Right-To-Match Rule & Important Dates
For the first time in WPL, teams can use a “right-to-match” (RTM) card to try to buy back players they had in the previous season. However, the number of RTMs a team can use depends on how many players they retain. If a team keeps five players, they can’t use any RTMs. If they retain just one player, they get to use four RTMs. This gives teams flexibility to bring back key talents if needed.
Each uncapped player a team retain will cost INR 50 lakh. Teams can also choose to pay their retained players more than the fixed amounts, but any extra money paid will be taken out of their total budget for the auction.
The last date for players to register for the auction is November 18, and the BCCI will publish the final list of players available for the auction on November 20.
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