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Trophy during the Women's Premier League Auction, held at JW Marriott Aerocity, New Delhi, India, on 27 November 2025. (CREIMAS for BCCI)There was a lot of excitement ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction in New Delhi on Thursday. However, all five franchises opted to back experience over youth, tried and tested over freshness, while rebuilding their squads before season four begins on January 9.
All-rounder Deepti Sharma headlined the auction, going back to her existing franchise, UP Warriorz, for Rs 3.20 crore, making it the joint second-highest buy in the auction history. The Abhishek Nayar-coached franchise used the Right-to-Match (RTM) card on the 28-year-old after the Delhi Capitals had won the solitary bid for her at Rs 50 lakh.
She joined Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner, who were acquired for the same price by the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Giants, respectively, ahead of the inaugural auction in 2023.
They also used the RTM cards on Sophie Ecclestone (Rs 85 lakh), Kranti Gaud (Rs 50 lakh) and Kiran Navgire (Rs 60 lakh) and acquired legendary former Australian captain Meg Lanning for Rs 1.90 crore. It remains to be seen if the multiple-time World Cup-winning skipper leads her new franchise in the upcoming season. The Warriorz also added experience to their fast bowling, acquiring Shikha Pandey for Rs 2.40 crore.
The Warriorz made the most of their large purse and along with Gujarat Giants, were the only sides to have added the maximum quota of 18 players in their squad.
The Mumbai Indians also looked to reclaim most of their core, which helped them win two titles in three years. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side signed Amelia Kerr (Rs 3 crore) and Shabnim Ismail (Rs 60 lakh), thereby adding more experience to their already strong-looking retentions. Later, MI also increased their Indian contingent, signing Sajana Sajeevan for Rs 75 lakh.
Experience seemed like the motto for the other teams as well. Three-time runner-up Delhi Capitals (DC) added South Africa captain and prolific opening batter Laura Wolvaardt for Rs 1.10 crore to their ranks. Her former teammate Lizelle Lee was also acquired by the franchise for Rs 30 lakh. Recent World Cup winners Sneh Rana and Sree Charani formed the Indian core for the side at the auction.
The Giants, who came into the auction with the second-highest purse, picked up Sophie Devine for Rs 2 crore. The 36-year-old could be one of the captaincy candidates for the franchise, along with Ashleigh Gardner. They also added the highest-paid uncapped Indian player to their squad in 22-year-old Anushka Sharma, for whom they paid Rs 45 lakh.
While the experienced names found buyers among all five franchises, one of the disappointing aspects was the lack of buyers for several uncapped Indian players. Vaishnavi Sharma, who was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded senior women’s T20 Trophy with 21 scalps in 11 matches, went unsold. Humairaa Kaazi, who was the second-highest run-getter with 320 runs in 10 matches, found no buyers.
The Delhi Capitals punted early on an uncapped Indian player, acquiring 16-year-old Deeya Yadav for Rs 10 lakh. The right-handed batter has scored 151 runs in six matches so far at a strike rate of 149.50. The auction had some other surprises, with the likes of Australian captain Alyssa Healy and Alana King going unsold.
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