New Delhi [India], October 9 : In the upcoming season of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026, franchises can retain a maximum of five players ahead of the mega auction, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The deadline for announcing retentions has been set for November 5, which has been communicated to the teams. The auction window will be between November 25 and 29, according to ESPNcricinfo.
In an email on Thursday, the WPL confirmed that each team can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, a maximum of two overseas players, and a maximum of two uncapped Indian players. In a scenario where a franchise opts to exercise the option to retain all five players, at least one of them should be an uncapped Indian player.
Notably, the WPL has decided to allow franchises to use the right-to-match (RTM) option at the auction. With RTM, a franchise can buy back a player who was part of its 2025 squad.
This time, the WPL has set an auction purse of Rs 15 crore. The retention slabs listed are: Rs 3.5 crore (Player 1), Rs 2.5 crore (Player 2), Rs 1.75 crore (Player 3), Rs 1 crore (Player 4) and Rs 50 lakh (Player 5). If a franchise elects to retain five players, Rs 9.25 crore would be deducted from its purse, while for four, the deduction sum would be Rs 8.75 crore; for three, it would result in Rs 7.75 crore; for two, Rs 6 crore; and for one, Rs 3.5 crore.
In the upcoming mega auction, a franchise can use a maximum of five RTMs. However, if a franchise retains five players, then the RTM option would be unavailable.
The WPL has also instructed the franchises that they can negotiate a different amount from the guideline price listed in the retention slabs. However, if the amount exceeds the slab, it will be deducted from the auction purse.
All five franchises must submit their retention lists by November 5. The franchises then need to share their lists of players for the auction by November 7. The last date for player registration is November 18. On November 20, the BCCI will release the list of players participating in the mega auction.