WPL Franchises Set for Major Overhaul Ahead of WPL 2026 Mega Auction

The Women's Premier League (WPL) franchises will be up for auction, according to a decision made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The five teams will be redesigned in preparation for the 2026 campaign. The teams have been notified informally of this development, according to ESPNcricinfo, and it is anticipated to occur before the end of November.
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The BCCI is preparing a massive auction for the 2026 season, which will involve a makeover of the five Women's Premier League (WPL) teams. The auction, which is anticipated to take place by the end of November, has been casually announced to the franchises. Regarding the quantity of right-to-match (RTM) cards available, the auction purse, retention slabs, and player retention, teams are awaiting formal confirmation from the WPL. The WPL committee will make these selections, according to an ESPNcricinfo report, although the meeting date has not yet been set.

WPL 2026 Mega Auction Update:

In 2023, the WPL—the most profitable competition in women's cricket—was introduced. The first winners of this five-team league were the Mumbai Indians Women. Although the dates have not yet been disclosed, the BCCI has previously stated that the tournament's next edition would take place during the January–February window. Not every franchise has been happy with the decision to hold a massive auction. The Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have all objected to the action. They think that, at a time when the WPL brand is just beginning to take hold, their three seasons of hard work in assembling squads could be undone.

Each of the ten clubs in the IPL 2025 mega auction was permitted to retain a maximum of six players through a mix of RTM and direct retention. This included a maximum of two Indian players without caps and a maximum of five Indian or foreign players with caps. By matching the highest bid made by another team for the player at the end of the bidding process, a franchise can purchase a player back during the auction via the RTM option. Interestingly, WPL auctions have never applied the RTM rule.

Because of the financial advantages it offers players, the WPL has been widely considered a game-changer in women's cricket. The WPL broadcast rights were purchased by Viacom18 in 2023 for INR 951 crore, or INR 7.09 crore per match, for the 2023–2027 season. The most costly purchase at INR 3.2 crore is still Indian star batter Smriti Mandhana, who was the first player to be purchased in the first 2023 WPL auction.

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