The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is set for a massive overhaul as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to conduct a mega auction prior to the 2026 season. “The franchises have been informally informed and it is expected that the auction will be held by the end of November 2025,” Dua said.
The five teams will have to wait for specific guidelines from the WPL committee members that would include auction rules such as player retention, purse limits, retention slabs and number of Right-to-Match (RTM) cards for use. Although the BCCI hasn’t made it official, the 2026 edition is also set to take place in the January-February window as the past seasons.
The WPL, which launched in 2023, quickly became one of the most important events on the women’s cricket calendar. Mumbai Indians won the first championship, and successfully defended their title in 2025; Royal Challengers Bangalore won in 2024. But the upcoming mega auction has split opinion among franchises.
Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals (the runners-up in all three seasons), have been said to be against dismantling well-settled teams at a time when the league is finally getting on solid footing. On the other side, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz have welcomed the revamp and see it as an opportunity to start afresh following misfortunes of not qualifying for Final in any of the three seasons played so far.
A WPL official stressed the significance of keeping a balance among all five teams at least, which is bound to reflect in terms of number of retention as well – that could vary anywhere between three and five players. There are also discussions going on in order to bring RTM cards for the first time in the women’s league.
WPL has been a game changer for women cricketers from across the world, with cashing in and bagging a good number of fans all over the world. With Viacom18 owning the broadcast rights (2023–27) for a value of INR 951 crore, the league also continues to build further momentum for women’s cricket as it enters an exciting new phase.
