WPL 2026 Mega Auction Revealed: Teams Allowed Five Player Retentions

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) governing council has authorized teams to retain up to five players from their current rosters. This can be done via direct retention or using the Right to Match (RTM) option. The BCCI’s communication, accessed by Cricbuzz, states that each team will have a budget of INR 15 crore to assemble their squad for the next season.

Franchises must finalize their retentions by November 5, with the WPL mega auction anticipated to occur between November 26 and 29.

BCCI guidelines specify that a team may retain a maximum of three Indian capped players, two overseas players, or two uncapped Indian players. If a team retains five players, at least one must be an uncapped player.

Retention pricing is as follows:

1st Retention – INR 3.50 crore

2nd Retention – INR 2.50 crore

3rd Retention – INR 1.75 crore

4th Retention – INR 1 crore

5th Retention – INR 50 lakh

If a team retains five players, INR 9.25 crore will be deducted from its purse and it cannot use any RTM cards. Teams retaining four players will have an INR 8.75 crore deduction and one RTM available, with more RTMs accessible for fewer retentions.

Each uncapped player retained costs INR 50 lakh. Teams can also pay more than the stipulated slabs, with any excess deducted from their budget.

Player registration closes on November 18, and the BCCI will release the auction player list on November 20.