WPLs mega auction: ODI World Cup stars in the spotlight

On November 2, women’s cricket in India had its red-letter day when the national team defeated South Africa to win the ODI World Cup for the first time. Before November draws to a close, an opportunity to build on the warmth of that joyous occasion and propel many more of India’s women cricketers into the limelight is in store.

It will all transpire on Thursday afternoon when the Women’s Premier League’s mega auction, ahead of the fourth edition in 2026, is held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity here.

For an action-packed season to unfold, the auction exercise on Thursday — the first major revamp of the five teams since the league’s initiation in 2023 — will hold the key as 277 players (194 Indians and 83 overseas) go under the hammer for a maximum of 73 slots. The highest base price bracket of ₹50 lakh features 19 players, among which six — Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal and Pooja Vastrakar — are Indian. Of this lot, only Vastrakar wasn’t part of India’s World Cup-winning squad.

Among the five franchises, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants are set to be the busiest. Having retained just the uncapped Shweta Sehrawat for ₹50 lakh, Warriorz have the highest purse of ₹14.5 crore going into the auction. Giants, which retained the Australian pair of Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, have ₹9 crore in their kitty.

Two-time champion Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, runner-up in all three seasons, have retained five players each. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which won the title in 2024, has also kept its core group of Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil.

With recency bias tending to be a factor at auctions, the leading performers of the ODI World Cup, although a different white-ball format, are likely to be in high demand. The event will kick off with the marquee set of Deepti, Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Ecclestone, Alyssa Healy, Amelia Kerr, Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt.

Besides these high-profile names who will attract bidding wars, it will be worth watching out for left-arm spinner N. Sree Charani (₹30 lakh) and Australian opener Phoebe Litchfield (₹50 lakh).

Charani, a 21-year-old who made her debut for India just six months ago, took 14 scalps in nine games at the ODI World Cup. Similarly, the 22-year-old Litchfield, earmarked for greatness from her mid-teens, stood out like a beacon for Australia in the World Cup, notably hammering a century against India in the semis.

Auction time: 3.30 p.m onwards