Most Expensive Players in WPL 2026 Auction: The 4th edition of the Women’s Premier League is set for a better stage, providing options for young talents and international stars to make a better path in their careers.
Ahead of the new season, a mega auction has been conducted, helping the cricketers to find a new franchise to showcase their skills. The WPL 2026 auction is scheduled to take place on 27 November 2025 in New Delhi, at a hotel in Aerocity.
The WPL 2026 auction saw some big signings, some surprising moves and notable unsold players. A total of 277 players for 73 available slots have been included in the WPL 2026 auction players list.
The auction list includes 194 Indian players, comprising 52 capped and 142 capped players for 50 slots, while 66 overseas capped and 17 uncapped will look to fill in the 23 available slots.
All teams announced their WPL 2026 retained players list and also released players list ahead of the auction and complete squads for WPL 2026 has been revealed after the auction.
The WPL 2026 season is set to be played in the January-February window, as the tournament is set to be preponded due to India co-hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 with Sri Lanka in February-March.
As per the WPL 2026 schedule, the first match of the tournament will be played on January 9, while the finals will be played on February 07.
Most Expensive Players in WPL 2026 Auction
As per the WPL rules, each franchise can have a minimum of 15 players and a maximum of 18 players out of which a maximum of 6 can be foreign players. In Playing 11, each team can have a maximum of 4 overseas players in the mix.
Following are the details of the Most Expensive Players in WPL 2026 auction.
| No | Player | Role | Team | Price |
| 1 | Deepti Sharma | All-rounder | UP Warriorz | INR 3.2 crore |
| 2 | Amelia Kerr | All-rounder | Mumbai Indians | INR 3.00 crore |
| 3 | Shikha Pandey | All-rounder | UP Warriorz | INR 2.40 crore |
| 4 | Sophie Devine | All-rounder | Gujarat Giants | INR 2.00 crore |
| 5 | Meg Lanning | Batter | UP Warriorz | INR 1.90 crore |
| 6 | Shree Charani | All-rounder | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.30 crore |
| 7 | Chinelle Henry | All-rounder | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.30 crore |
| 8 | Phoebe Litchfield | Batter | UP Warriorz | INR 1.20 crore |
| 9 | Laura Wolvaard | Batter | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.10 crore |
| 10 | Asha Sobhana | Bowler | UP Warriorz | INR 1.10 crore |
WPL 2026 Mega Auction Top Buys
These are the most expensive buys in the WPL 2026 mega auction.
| Category | Player | Price in WPL 2026 Auction | Team |
| Most Expensive Player | Deepti Sharma | INR 3.2 crore | UP Warriorz |
| Most Expensive Batsman | Meg Lanning | INR 1.90 crore | UP Warriorz |
| Most Expensive Bowler | Asha Sobhana | INR 1.1 crore | UP Warriorz |
| Most Expensive Allrounder | Deepti Sharma | INR 3.2 crore | UP Warriorz |
| Most Expensive Wicketkeeper | Lizelle Lee | INR 30 lakhs | Delhi Capitals |
| Most Expensive Overseas player | Amelia Kerr | INR 3.00 crore | Mumbai Indians |
| Most Expensive Capped Indian player | Deepti Sharma | INR 3.2 crore | UP Warriorz |
WPL 2026 Auction Rules
- According to the guidelines, each team can retain up to five players ahead of the auction (up to three capped Indian Players and up to two overseas players, and up to two uncapped players).
- A team of a maximum of five players will lose the ability to use any RTM options. Retaining four players will permit one RTM, three players will give two RTMs, two players will offer three RTMs, and retaining just one player will allow four RTMs.
- The BCCI has also revealed that the auction purse for 2026 has been set at INR 15 crore, with fixed retention slabs providing a base value for retained players:
- INR 3.5 crore for Player 01
- INR 2.5 crore for Player 02
- INR 1.75 crore for Player 03
- INR 1 crore for Player 04
- INR 50 lakhs for Player 05
- The retained players’ value will be deducted from the auction purse – retaining five players will cost INR 9.25 crore, four will cost INR 8.75 crore, three will cost INR 7.75 crore, two will cost INR 6 crore, and one will cost INR 3.5 crore.
- Players who are eligible to register their names for the WPL 2026 auction should get NOC from their respective cricket boards.
- BCCI will shortlist the eligible players from the overall registered players list and will announce the final list.
- BCCI will categorise the shortlisted players in various sets based on their specialism, including capped/uncapped/Associate players.
- During the Auction, no franchise will be allowed to buy a player beyond their purse balance.
- All teams must have a minimum of 15 players and a maximum of 18 players to finalise the squad.
