A maximum of five players may be retained by teams prior to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 season mega-auction. The teams have been informed of the November 5 deadline for retention announcements, and the auction is set for November 25–29.
According to an ESPNcricinfo report, the WPL stated in an email sent to franchisees on October 9 that each team is only permitted to keep a maximum of three Indian players with caps, two players from abroad, and two Indian players without caps. At least one uncapped Indian player must be kept by a team if it decides to keep five players.
WPL teams will be able to purchase a player from their 2025 roster for the first time by using the right-to-match (RTM) option during the auction. Player 1 must pay INR 3.5 crore, Player 2 must pay INR 2.5 crore, Player 3 must pay INR 1.75 crore, Player 4 must pay INR 1 crore, and Player 5 must pay INR 50 lakh. The auction purse has been set at INR 15 crore.
A franchise’s purse will be reduced by INR 9.25 crore if it keeps five players, INR 8.75 crore if it keeps four, INR 7.75 crore if it keeps three, INR 6 crore if it keeps two, and INR 3.5 crore if it keeps one. Retaining five players eliminates the RTM option, however a franchise may use up to five RTMs. There is one RTM left for four retained players, two for three, three for two, and four for one retained player.
Any sum over the slab will be subtracted from the auction proceeds, however franchises are free to negotiate pricing that deviate from the guidelines. INR 50 lakh is the minimum fee for an uncapped Indian player; however, this might vary depending on the terms of the player’s contract with the team.
Additionally, the WPL has released schedules for the auction. Franchises must submit their auction lists by November 7 after the player retention list is due on November 5. participants must register by November 18 in order for the BCCI to announce the list of participants for the mega auction on November 20.
Guidelines for WPL Retention for the 2026 Mega Auction
| Retention option | Max players retained | RTM available | Purse deducted (INR) | Purse remaining (INR) |
| 1 | 5 | 0 | 9.25 | 5.75 |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 8.75 | 6.25 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 7.75 | 7.25 |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 6.00 | 9.00 |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 3.50 | 11.50 |
| 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15.00 |
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