The retention deadline is November 5.
The WPL 2026 auction is just a few weeks away. Former winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians along with other franchises will have to rebuild their squads for the next season.
After three editions, the Women’s Premier League will have a mega auction. That means teams can not retain their full squads from the previous season and have to reconstruct.
As per the regulations, teams will be allowed up to five retentions ahead of the WPL mega auction. A maximum of three Indian capped, two overseas and two uncapped players can be retained. But if a team wants to retain five players, it must include one uncapped player. As such the franchises will have to do some serious brainstorming to finalise the retention list.
Mumbai Indians have been the best side in the WPL, having won two out of three editions. RCB won their only title in 2024. Incidentally, Delhi Capitals have been the runners-up on all the three occasions, failing to cross that final hurdle.
Now Delhi Capitals might not be as heavily affected as their five retentions are pretty straightforward and they do not lose as much quality with their released players. Mumbai Indians and RCB, on the other hand, have several quality players who have a strong case to be retained. That means these two teams have more to lose due to the mega auction rule.
The reigning champions will have a pretty straightforward decision when it comes to picking two Indian capped players. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the young pace all-rounder Amanjot Kaur should be retained without hesitation. Pooja Vastrakar has been out of action with an injury for over an year, which rules out her chances.
Their overseas roster, however, is absolutely stacked. They have some of the best talent in the world in Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Shabnim Ismail, Nadine de Klerk, and Chloe Tryon. Five of these are all-rounders, who have elite records or have been in magnificent form. Ismail has retired from international cricket but still has rapid pace in her arsenal.
Having to retain only two of these six comes as a massive blow to Mumbai Indians. Sciver-Brunt is almost a certainty should they have to think a bit harder for the second overseas retention. It is likely to go to one of Kerr or Matthews. But as we can see, they will lose out on four top assets ahead of the WPL 2026 auction.
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While Mumbai Indians have to lose overseas talent, RCB will have to release their Indian capped players into the WPL 2026 auction pool . They have the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Renuka Singh, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Raghvi Bist, S Meghana, and Kanika Ahuja, who have all played for India.
Only two of these can be retained, which means RCB will lose the Indian core they have built over the last three years. Mandhana and Ghosh are the obvious two retentions. What they will lose is a quality leg-spinner in Sobhana, all-round value of Ahuja and Shreyanka, a pacer of Renuka’s caliber.
Apart from the Indian core, RCB will also have to pick only two overseas stars from Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge. All five are exceptionally skilled players. Assuming they retain Perry and Devine, they have to let go of two brilliant spin all-rounders.
Safe to say, both RCB and Mumbai Indians will have their work cut out in the WPL 2026 auction to reconstruct their side from scratch.
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