WPL 2026: Franchises can retain up to five players ahead of mega auction
The Women's Premier League (WPL) has announced some new guidelines ahead of the mega auction.
New Delhi: The Women's Premier League (WPL) has announced some new guidelines for the upcoming WPL mega auction. Teams will be allowed to retain up to five players ahead of the mega auction. November 5 will be the deadline date for retentions, whereas the auction will be conducted between November 25 to 29.
The governing council of WPL also introduced the Right to Match (RTM) option for the first time in the WPL auction. Each franchise will have a purse of Rs 15 crore to build a squad for the upcoming season.
Each team can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, or two uncapped Indian players. If a franchise retains five players, then an uncapped player should be included in the retention list.
The price slab for the retentions will be valued as:
Retention 1 - Rs 3.50 crore
Retention 2 - Rs 2.50 crore
Retention 3 - Rs 1.75 crore
Retention 4 - Rs 1 crore
Retention 5 - Rs 50 lakh
If a team retains all five players before the auction, then they will not be eligible for any RTM cards. If a side retains four players, then one RTM card will be issued for the franchise. If a team retains three players, then two RTM cards will be available, and so on.
If a franchise decides to retain all five players, Rs 9.25 crore will be deducted from their Rs 15 crore purse. If a team decides to retain four players, Rs 8.75 crore would be deducted, while for three, Rs 7.75 crore would be deducted, and for two players, Rs 6 crore. A single retention will reduce Rs 3.5 crore from the team's purse.
| Option | Number Retained | RTM available | Purse Deduction (in Rs Cr) | Balance for Auction (in Rs Cr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 9 |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 3.5 | 11.5 |
| 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
The uncapped players will be retained at Rs 50 lakh. If a franchise retained a player above the price slab, then the corresponding excess amount will be deducted from the overall purse.
The final date to submit the retention list is November 5, and the list for the players at the auction table will be submitted by November 7. The players' registration deadline is marked on November 18, and BCCI will share the list of available players for the mega auction on November 20.