Everything You Need to Know About WPL 2026

Women’s Premier League, which started as a promising tournament with the objective of giving exposure to Indian female cricketers so they can learn and grow in a system that can enhance their game to new heights. In just three seasons, we have seen players like Amanjot Kaur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, or experienced domestic players like Asha Shobhana and Sneh Rana make their mark, which has made their pathway to the Indian Women’s Cricket Team a lot easier.

It has also helped players face specific game situations, which benefited someone like Richa Ghosh, who developed her finishing role while playing for RCB. It has also yielded great results for the Indian team, as they won the World Cup for the very first time in their history, with players like Amanjot, Kranti, Charani, and Richa playing massive roles in that victory. So, it is easy to say that WPL already has a massive impact on the women’s game, and it is still growing.

This edition will be a bit different, as the teams had to go through their first mega auction. That means new combinations and new beginnings for everyone. The teams were only allowed to retain up to five players, and if they retained fewer than five, the teams were allotted the RTM (Right to Match) option.

So, let’s take a look at how every team has been constructed after the mega auction and who might be the favourites to lift the trophy.

The Defending Champions: Mumbai Indians

The Harman Kaur-led franchise has already made history by winning two titles out of the three seasons. They are the most successful franchise in the competition, just like their male counterparts.

Before the auction, they had Lisa Knightley joining them as their head coach, who worked as an assistant coach with the Delhi Capitals, and Kristen Beams also joined them as their spin bowling coach, while they already had the services of Jhulan Goswami at their disposal as their bowling coach.

For a team like MI, it was always going to be an issue whom to retain, but they still chose to hold on to Harman, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, and Kamalini as the core of the new cycle. In the auction, with a budget of ₹5.75 crore, they brought in Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, and Milly Illingworth.

The squad resembles MI’s recent auction strategy, which is retaining as much as possible of their core group and adding a few more uncapped talents through their scouting network. On paper, this team looks balanced, but I really feel that there are at least two, if not three, better teams on paper. Of course, no one writes off MI at their own peril, and their scouting system is incredible. However, considering Hayley is coming back from an injury and Shabnim no longer plays international cricket, there aren’t many players in their reserves who have actually experienced or performed in the WPL.

They don’t have much flexibility and will be too dependent on their star players. If one or two of them have a bad season, it will be difficult for them. Plus, there is no prominent Indian batter apart from Harman.

Their probable XI looks like:

Kamalini (wk)
Hayley Matthews
Nat Sciver-Brunt
Harman Kaur (c)
Amelia Kerr
Amanjot Kaur
Sajana
Poonam Khemnar / Nalla Reddy
Sanskriti Gupta
Saika Ishaque
Shabnim Ismail

The Bridesmaids: Delhi Capitals

The runners-up for the last three seasons, Delhi will once again be in the hunt for their maiden WPL title.

Before the mega auction, they let go of their captain Meg Lanning, who was an important member of the team. The new edition will see Jemimah Rodrigues stepping into the captaincy role, though she has done well as captain for the Maharashtra domestic team. This gives her a very good opportunity to showcase what she can do as a captain on a much bigger stage.

Talking about their retained players, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, and Niki Prasad were retained ahead of the mega auction. However, the Australian all-rounder opted out of this edition of the WPL due to personal reasons, and they added Alana King to their squad.

They brought in Laura Wolvaardt, Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, Chinelle Henry, Lizelle Lee, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Deeya Yadav, Lucy Hamilton, and Madiwala Mamatha with the ₹5.7 crore budget available after retention.

The squad structure seems very good from a batting point of view, with the likes of Lee, Shafali, Jemimah, and Kapp. Henry can also be handy with the bat, with Rana providing the finishing touches. Their spin department is decent with Hamilton, Charani, and Minnu, but they lack serious pace bowling options. They will be heavily dependent on Marizanne Kapp’s bowling, as she is the only premier pacer in the squad.

Their probable XI looks like:

Lizelle Lee (wk)
Shafali Verma
Deeya Yadav
Jemimah Rodrigues (c)
Marizanne Kapp
Chinelle Henry
Madiwala Mamatha
Lucy Hamilton / Alana King
Sneh Rana
Shree Charani
Minnu Mani

They can play Laura Wolvaardt in place of Lee, while Madiwala Mamatha can take up the keeping duties.

The Aussie Backbone: Gujarat Giants

They have had a very interesting journey in the WPL. They finished fifth in the first two seasons and reached the playoffs by finishing third under the leadership of Ashleigh Gardner.

Before the mega auction, they retained captain Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, which clearly suggests they will be expecting big returns from the Australian duo and will look for a heavy rebuild. With only two retentions, they had three RTM options available.

Their auction buys were Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali (RTM), Kashvee Gautam (RTM), Renuka Singh, Yashtika Bhatia, Kim Garth, Anushka Sharma, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Tanuja Kanwar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Kanika Ahuja, Titas Sadhu, Ayushi Soni, Happy Kumari, and Shivani Singh.

Despite having a ₹9 crore purse available, which was the second-highest at the auction, the squad feels hollow. They are heavily reliant on three to four players, while the rest look scratchy. The batting looks thin, and their tail is too long. How they perform after a collapse will be interesting to see.

Their bowling is decent, especially with the additions of Renuka, Kashvee, Wareham, and Devine, but they still look like the weakest team in the competition.

Their probable XI looks like:

Beth Mooney (wk)
Sophie Devine
Anushka Sharma
Ashleigh Gardner (c)
Kanika Ahuja
Georgia Wareham
Bharti Fulmali
Kashvee Gautam
Tanuja Kanwar
Rajeshwari Gayakwad / Titas Sadhu
Renuka Singh

The Underdogs: UP Warriorz

Just like Gujarat Giants, the UP Warriorz haven’t lit up the WPL either. They finished last in the previous edition.

This year, the ownership decided to appoint Abhishek Nayar as the head coach of the team. He has previously worked with Kolkata Knight Riders and the Indian Men’s Cricket Team and is known for creating a positive team environment. However, this will be his first stint as a head coach.

In terms of retentions, they adopted an interesting strategy by letting go of every player except Shweta Sehrawat. With a massive ₹14.5 crore purse and four RTM options, they rebuilt smartly.

Their auction buys included Deepti Sharma (RTM), Shikha Pandey, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Asha Shobhana, Sophie Ecclestone (RTM), Deandra Dottin, Kiran Navigire (RTM), Kranti Gaud (RTM), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Chloe Tryon, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Gongadi Trisha, and Suman L. Meena. They also added Australian all-rounder Charli Knott as a replacement for Tara Norris.

Overall, this is a very strong squad with plenty of flexibility. The addition of Meg Lanning helps immensely from a leadership perspective. Deepti Sharma and Sophie Ecclestone are among the best all-rounders in T20 cricket, while Shikha Pandey will lead the pace attack.

The only concern is the lack of an outright wicketkeeper and an inexperienced middle order, but their batting depth can compensate for it. In my opinion, they are one of the favorites to win the tournament.

Their probable XI looks like:

Meg Lanning
Harleen Deol
Phoebe Litchfield
Kiran Navigire
Deandra Dottin
Shweta Sehrawat
Deepti Sharma (c)
Sophie Ecclestone
Shikha Pandey
Kranti Gaud
Asha Shobhana

The Challengers: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The title winners of 2024 had an inconsistent 2025 campaign and finished fourth. Before the 2026 mega auction, coach Luke Williams resigned due to his commitment to the BBL, leading the management to appoint Malolan Rangarajan as head coach. They also hired Anya Shrubsole as bowling coach.

Their retained players were Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, and Shreyanka Patil. Perry later opted out due to personal reasons, and Sayali Satghare was named as her replacement.

RCB used their ₹6.15 crore purse to bring in Lauren Bell, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Grace Harris, Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Voll, Dayalan Hemalatha, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat (RTM), Gautami Naik, and Kumar Prathyoosha.

The squad looks balanced with a strong middle order. However, workload management will be crucial for Pooja Vastrakar and Shreyanka Patil, both returning from injuries.

Their probable XI looks like:

Smriti Mandhana (c)
Gautami Naik
Dayalan Hemalatha
Grace Harris / Georgia Voll
Richa Ghosh (wk)
Nadine de Klerk
Pooja Vastrakar
Linsey Smith
Shreyanka Patil
Arundhati Reddy
Lauren Bell

All teams look fairly balanced, and it promises to be another blockbuster WPL season. The action will kick off on 9 January 2025, with the fourth edition starting at the D.Y. Patil Stadium and concluding on 5 February at the BCA Stadium. Whether MI can defend their title, RCB can win their second, or a new champion emerges, remains to be seen.

Let’s keep supporting our girls and ensure the beautiful game continues to grow.

Rishav Nag

Rishav is a passionate sports writer who has always been fond of cricket and football, both of which have been an integral part of his life. He strives to write about them from the perspective of a fan who is emotionally and passionately involved in the game.

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