A historic season of the Women's Premier League reached a fitting end on March 26, 2023, as Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals in a last-over thriller to clinch the maiden title - thus becoming the first franchise to win both the men's and women's championships. Having finished second in the regular season, Mumbai advanced to the Eliminator, whereby beating UP Warriorz they set a date with Delhi Capitals for the trophy bout. Delhi, who had finished top of the leaderboard in the league stage, were let down by a middle order collapse on their day of reckoning. (Auction Live Blog | More Cricket News)
As the Women's Premier League gears up to return in 2024, the clocks have been reset. As is the case with their men's counterpart, each of the five teams have retained and released players with a view toward building a team capable of contesting the title. Some, like Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, have stuck with the tried and the tested, retaining more players than releasing them. Others, such as Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, meanwhile, are looking to put a torrid season behind by strengthening afresh in the auction.
A total of 165 players will go under the hammer in the WPL 2024 auction in Mumbai on December 9, 2023. Of the 165, 104 are Indian while 61 from overseas - 15 of those 61 are from associate nations. From the player pool, 54 have been capped by their respective countries, while 109 are still awaiting their maiden call-up.
Each of the five teams has 24 slots to fill. Delhi Capitals have the least number of slots to fill, while Gujarat Giants the most: 13
How much money does each team have ahead of WPL 2024 Auction?
| Franchise | Squad size | Overseas players | Money spent | Money left | Available slots (Domestic + Foreign) |
| Delhi Capitals | 15 | 5 | Rs. 11.25 crore | Rs. 2.25 crore | 3 + 1 |
| Gujarat Giants | 8 | 3 | Rs. 7.55 crore | Rs. 5.95 crore | 10 + 3 |
| Mumbai Indians | 13 | 5 | Rs. 11.4 crore | Rs. 2.1 crore | 5 + 1 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 11 | 3 | Rs. 10.15 crore | Rs. 3.35 crore | 7 + 3 |
| UP Warriorz | 13 | 5 | Rs. 9.5 crore | Rs. 4 crore | 5 + 1 |
WPL 2024 retention list
A total of 60 players, including 21 overseas cricketers, were retained across five franchises for WPL 2024. Following is the list of players retained by the franchises ahead of the auction date:
Delhi Capitals (DC): Alice Capsey*, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen*, Laura Harris*, Marizanne Kapp*, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu.
Gujarat Giants (GG): Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer.
Mumbai Indians (MI): Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong*, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver*, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry*, Heather Knight*, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine*.
UP Warriorz (UPW): Alyssa Healy*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris*, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell*, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone*, Tahlia Mcgrath*.
* denotes foreign player
