Meanwhile, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 mega auction is scheduled for November 27 in Delhi. This will be the first mega auction of the WPL since the inaugural auction held before the first edition of the league.
No major player trades have been reported in the IPL yet, including the anticipated move of Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals.
Franchises have retained several key players ahead of the WPL auction. India’s 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians), vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals), and Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals) have all been retained.
The UP Warriorz have released India’s allrounder Deepti Sharma, who was Player of the Tournament in the 2025 Women’s World Cup with 22 wickets and 215 runs in nine matches. However, the team is likely to retain her using the Right-to-Match (RTM) card, marking the first time the RTM card will be used in the WPL. Deepti led the Warriorz in Alyssa Healy’s absence, with the franchise retaining only young batter Shweta Sehrawat alongside her.
The Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have each retained five players, the maximum allowed in the WPL. The Mumbai Indians have kept Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, and Hayley Matthews. Delhi Capitals retained Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, and Niki Prasad. Gujarat Giants have retained Australian players Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, while RCB have retained Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa, and Shreyanka Patil. Released players entering the auction pool include Australia’s Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning, as well as New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr.
The auctions mark a key stage in building squads for the IPL 2026 season and WPL 2026, with teams seeking to retain core players while potentially securing top talent from the released pool.
(With inputs from TOI)