WPL 2026 Retentions: Top Picks Retained, Surprising Releases – Key Talking Points

All the Women’s Premier League (WPL) teams just named their retentions ahead of the 2026 WPL auctions, while many retentions, including Mandhana, Brunt and Gardner were on the expected lines, some releases, including Deepti Sharma created headlines.

The action in and around women’s cricket is transcending to newer heights. Just days after the completion of a successful ODI World Cup that witnessed new viewership records, the buzz around the women’s cricket fraternity has shifted to the much-anticipated WPL retention as teams released their retention list ahead of the auctions.

As expected, most of the retained names were on the expected lines, although some of the exclusions have raised some eyebrows within the fans, including that of Deepti Sharma, who was the Player of the Tournament of the recently concluded ODI World Cup.

Smriti Mandhana - Only Indian Player Retained At Top 3.5 Crore Bracket

Smriti Mandhana is the only Indian player who was retained at the top bracket of 3.5 crore by RCB, while the Indian World Cup-winning captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, was retained at 2.5 crore by Mumbai Indians.

Among the top foreign picks, Ashleigh Gardner and Nat Sciver-Brunt were the only ones who were retained for 3.5 crore by Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians, respectively.

According to WPL retention rules, every team was allowed a maximum of five retentions each, in which only three capped Indian players could be retained.

Also, if you are retaining the maximum limit of five players, then it is mandatory to include an uncapped player in it. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals were the only teams that retained 5 players each, whereas UP Warriorz retained only one uncapped Indian player- Shweta Sehrawat for INR 50 lakhs.

Here’s the list of all the players retained by all the 5 WPL teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Purse Remaining- 6.15 crore

Players Retained: Smriti Mandhana - INR 3.5 crore, Richa Ghosh - INR 2.75 crore, Ellyse Perry - INR 2 crore, Shreyanka Patil - INR 60 lakh

RTM Available- 1

Notable Players Released: Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Mumbai Indians - Purse Remaining- 5.75 crore

Players Retained: Nat Sciver-Brunt - INR 3.5 crore, Harmanpreet Kaur - INR 2.5 crore, Hayley Matthews - INR 1.75 crore, Amanjot Kaur - INR 1 crore, G Kamalini - INR 50 lakh

RTM Option Available: 0

Notable Players Released: Amelia Kerr, Nadine de Klerk, Yastika Bhatia, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail

Delhi Capitals - Purse Remaining- 5.70 crore

Players Retained: Jemimah Rodrigues - INR 2.2 crore, Shafali Verma - INR 2.2 crore. Annabel Sutherland - INR 2.2 crore, Marizanne Kapp - INR 2.2 crore, Niki Prasad - INR 50 lakh

RTM Available: 0

Notable Players Released: Meg Lanning, N Shree Charani, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy

Gujarat Giants - Purse Remaining- 9 crore

Players Retained: Ash Gardner - INR 3.5 crore, Beth Mooney - INR 2.5 crore

RTM Options Available: 4

Notable Players Released: Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield

UP Warriorz - Purse Remaining- 14.50 crore

Player Retained: Shweta Sehrawat - INR 50 lakh

RTM Options Available: 4

Notable Players Released: Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kranti Gaud, Chinelle Henry