WPL 2027 retention: Players retained and released

The five Women’s Premier League teams announced their respective retained and released players lists, with the official deadline for finalising these ending on Monday.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that the fifth edition of the Women's Premier League will be staged from January 14 to February 7, 2027.

The WPL 2027 auction is scheduled for October 28 in Kochi, Kerala. The WPL 2027 retentions were revealed a month prior.

Each of the five teams had until September 28 to decide which members of their squads to keep and whom to release ahead of the auction.

As per WPL rules, each squad can have a maximum of 18 cricket players, of which no more than six can be overseas signings.

There’s a salary cap of INR 15 crore for each team with released players freeing up funds for the teams to bolster their squad at the auction. There was no cap on how many players the teams could retain.

Gujarat Giants retained the most number of players with 15 while Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have retained 13 players each. UP Warriorz and reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru have opted to keep hold 11 each from last season’s squads.

All the teams have held on to their respective core groups. However, there are some big name releases with GG deciding to part ways with England star Danni Wyatt-Hodge, RCB letting go of Grace Harris and Linsey Smith. DC have also released Sneh Rana.

Smriti Mandhana. stays with RCB while Harmanpreet Kaur will continue with MI in WPL 2027.

Since its launch in 2023, the WPL has grown into the biggest and richest franchise-based women's T20 cricket competition in the world, featuring the best players from not only India but also all over the world.

Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have each won the WPL two times. Delhi Capitals have finished runners up in all four editions.

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