Last Updated: September 28, 2026 08:43 PM
Women’s cricket fans received big news from all five franchises today. Every team has now made tough decisions for the next season.
What Happened on Deadline Day
The WPL 2027 retention process ended on September 28. All five teams shared their retained and released players list with fans. The fifth season will run from January 14 to February 7, 2027.
The auction will take place on October 28 in Kochi, Kerala. This league remains the world’s biggest and richest women’s franchise T20 competition. Fans across India were eager to see these lists after months of waiting.
Each squad can hold a maximum of 18 players in total. No more than 6 overseas players can join each team. Every franchise also works with a salary cap of 14 crore rupees.
Teams faced no limit on how many players they could retain. Released players free up money for teams to spend at the auction.
How Many Players Each Team Kept
Gujarat Giants retained the most players, with 15 names in their squad. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals each kept 13 players for next season. UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained 11 players each.
Most teams largely kept their existing core groups together for better stability. Smriti Mandhana stays with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Harmanpreet Kaur remains with Mumbai Indians.
This WPL 2027 retention shows how much teams trust their current stars.
All Retain and Released Players on WPL 2027:
| Team | Retained players | Released players |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi Capitals | Annabel Sutherland, Chinelle Henry, Laura Wolvaardt, Lucy Hamilton, Marizanne Kapp, Diya Yadav, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mamta Madiwala, Minnu Mani, N Sri Charani, Nandani Sharma, Niki Prasad, Shafali Verma | Alana King, Lizelle Lee, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia, Pragati Singh, Edla Shrujana |
| Gujarat Giants | Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Happy Kumari, Jintimani Kalita, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvi Gautam, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh, Tanuja Kanwar, Yastika Bhatia | Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Ayushi Soni, Titas Sadhu, Shivani Singh |
| Mumbai Indians | Mellie Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Nicola Carey, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur, Rahila Firdous, S Sajna, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnam Ismail, Vaishnavi Sharma | Millie Illingworth, G Kamalini, Kranti Reddy, Poonam Khemnar, Saiqa Ishak, Triveni Vashisht |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | Ellyse Perry, Georgia Voll, Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Prathyosha Kumar, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Sayali Satghare, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana | Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, D Hemalatha, Gautami Nayak |
| UP Warriorz | Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Ecclestone, Tara Norris, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Pratik Rawal, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Sheikh | Amy Jones, Charlie Knott, Chloe Tryon, Deandra Dottin, Asha Sobhana, G Trisha, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Suman Meena |
Notable Players Who Got Released
Some big names now head into the auction pool. Gujarat Giants released Danni Wyatt-Hodge after a long stay with them. Royal Challengers Bengaluru let go of Grace Harris and Linsey Smith.
Delhi Capitals also released Sneh Rana from their squad. These moves give teams extra money to build stronger and more balanced squads. Fans can check the complete retained and released players list on official team pages.
Why This Season Looks Exciting
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have each won the trophy twice. Delhi Capitals have finished as runners-up in all four editions so far. They will surely want to change that record this time.
The WPL 2027 retention picks show teams want stability before the auction. This list also sets up a fascinating bidding battle in Kochi for every team.
