WPL Auction: How the squads stack up ahead of 2026 edition

Mumbai Indians

In spending more than half their small purse on buying back Amelia Kerr for INR 3 crore, the reigning champions made it clear they could go all out in rebuilding the core that won them two titles in the inaugural three-year cycle. Shabnim Ismail was a steal at INR 60 lakh when RCB pulled out early, but the buy-back of Saika Ishaque and S Sajana felt like an emotional call. The lack of reliable Indian medium pacers, barring allrounder Amanjot Kaur, is glaring.

Strongest XI: Hayley Matthews, G Kamilini (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Poonam Khemnar, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque

Delhi Capitals

Despite the joint-lowest purse, Delhi were able to stitch together a future-proof side. The three-time runners up lost out on bringing back Meg Lanning, and went all in on building a core of strong allrounders. They filled the Lanning void with the in-form Laura Wolvaardt, who also brings leadership experience. DC spent INR 1.3 crore each on big-hitting Chinelle Henry and in bringing back Sree Charani. Their fast-bowling department will be heavily reliant on foreign names.

Strongest XI: Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Niki Prasad, Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana/Minnu Mani, Taniyaa Bhatia (wk), Sree Charani, Nandni Sharma

Gujarat Giants

Gujarat went all out early to outbid RCB and DC and onboard the World Cup-winning New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine at INR 2 crore. While their overseas bench is enviable, GG missed the trick by not investing in bigger Indian names. Yastika Bhatia will play for her home state provided she makes a miraculous recovery from an ACL tear. The lack of experience between their Indian and overseas bench is strong, and the team looks very top-heavy.

Strongest XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Yastika Bhatia, Ash Gardner (C), Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Renuka Thakur

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The 2024 winners were clearly chasing all-rounders and capped players. England's Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith come in. Australia duo of Grace Harris and Georgia Voll might be competing for one spot. At one point, RCB almost spent their entire remaining purse on Shikha Pandey but eventually settled for Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy.

Strongest XI: Smriti Mandhana (C), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, D Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith

UP Warriorz

Looking to build from ground up with just one retention of uncapped Shweta Sehrawat, UPW dictated the shots with the biggest purse in aggressive bidding for Lanning, Pandey, Phoebe Litchfield and Asha Sobhana. The most expensive buy was World Cup MVP Deepti Sharma with DC hiking the price from INR 50 lakh to INR 3.2 crore. UP have an all-round squad overall, but with the glaring oversight in not fetching a frontline, experienced wicketkeeper.

Strongest XI: Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Kiran Navgire, Deepti Sharma, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Shipra Giri (wk), Kranti Gaud, Shikha Pandey

Player categorisation as per 2026 WPL Auction register