WPL 2026 auctions set to be held in New Delhi in late November

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction is set to be held in New Delhi ahead of the upcoming fourth season. According to reports, all the five franchises have been forwarded an informal communication by the managing committee regarding the venue and dates, likely to be November 26 or 27, 2025. However, an official update on the matter is currently awaited.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had indicated that the auction would take place between November 26 and 29, but now the tentative window has shrunk further. The event is set to be a day's affair, as not more than 90 players will be going under the hammer at the marquee event ahead of its 2026 edition.

However, each team has been allowed to retain up to five players, which means that number will be much lesser than 90, as the team size has been capped to a maximum of 18 members. The retention list ahead of the auction is to be submitted on or before November 5, following which the roster for the mega event will be created, according to Cricbuzz.

What is the retention rule and salary cap for WPL 2026?

If a team opts for all five retentions, it will incur the following deductions from its auction purse, INR 3.5 crore for the first player, INR 2.5 crore for the second, INR 1.75 crore for the third, INR 1 crore for the fourth, and INR 50 lakh for the fifth retained player, totalling to 9.25 crore on five players, leaving 5.75 crore to take up to thirteen more of them.

The BCCI has clarified that these figures are guideline values meant for salary cap calculations only. The actual amount paid to a player may differ from the suggested retention value.

“While the amount paid to an individual player may differ from guideline price, the total amount based on the number of players retained will be used for salary cap calculation,” the BCCI told the franchises as quoted.

The guideline price for retaining an uncapped player is INR 50 lakh, and each franchise can retain a maximum of two uncapped players. In addition, teams are permitted to retain up to three capped Indian players, while no more than two overseas players can feature on the retention list.

The BCCI has also approved five Right to Match (RTM) options. However, the number of RTMs available to each franchise will depend on the number of players retained. For every player a team retains, it will lose one RTM option. For example, if a team retains five players, it cannot exercise any RTM during the auction. Conversely, a team entering the auction without any retention will have the opportunity to use all five RTMs to reacquire players of their choice.