The list of retained and released players by each team ahead of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction included plenty of surprises on Thursday.
While Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues were retained by their respective teams, Deepti Sharma, the Player of the Tournament at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, was released by UP Warriorz.
While most of the cricket teams executed their WPL 2026 retention strategies to maintain a balanced core, UP Warriorz looked to start afresh with just one retained player.
Each team could retain up to five players – three Indian capped players and either two overseas or two uncapped Indian players. In case a team opted to retain five players, at least one of them had to be an uncapped Indian.
Teams that retained fewer players will have more Right-to-Match (RTM) options and a larger purse going into the mega auction later this month.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians, led by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals, who kept Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues in the side, have retained five players. At the mega auction, they will have no RTM options available.
UP Warriorz, who claimed the wooden spoon last season, went for a contrasting approach with a major overhaul. They retained the uncapped Shweta Sehrawat and will have the largest purse along with four RTMs at the auction to make a squad of at least 16 and up to 18 players.
Gujarat Giants, meanwhile, let go of South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, who was the top run-scorer at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.
Australia’s Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning, New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk were some of the other notable names missing from the retention lists.
WPL 2026 retention: Players retained and released
* Overseas players
Delhi Capitals WPL 2026 retention
DC retained players
Jemimah Rodrigues
Shafali Verma
Marizanne Kapp*
Annabel Sutherland*
Niki Prasad
DC released players
Meg Lanning*
Sneha Deepthi
Alice Capsey*
Arundhati Reddy
Jess Jonassen*
Minnu Mani
N Charani
Shikha Pandey
Nandini Kashyap
Sarah Bryce*
Taniyaa Bhatia
Radha Yadav
Titas Sadhu
Gujarat Giants WPL 2026 retention
GG retained players
Ashleigh Gardner*
Beth Mooney*
GG released players
Bharti Fulmali
Laura Wolvaardt*
Phoebe Litchfield*
Priya Mishra
Dayalan Hemalatha
Harleen Deol
Sayali Satghare
Tanuja Kanwer
Shabnam Shakil
Mannat Kashyap
Meghna Singh
Kashvee Gautam
Deandra Dottin*
Simran Shaikh
Danielle Gibson*
Prakashika Naik
Mumbai Indians WPL 2026 retention
MI retained players
Harmanpreet Kaur
Natalie Sciver-Brunt*
Amanjot Kaur
G Kamalini
Hayley Matthews*
MI released players
Amandeep Kaur
Amelia Kerr*
Chloe Tryon
Jintimani Kalita
Sathyamoorty Keerthana
Parunika Sisodia
Sajeevan Sajana
Yastika Bhatia
Saika Ishaque
Shabnim Ismail*
Nadine de Klerk*
Sanskriti Gupta
Akshita Maheshwari
Danielle Gibson*
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL 2026 retention
RCB retained players
Smriti Mandhana
Ellyse Perry*
Richa Ghosh
Shreyanka Patil
RCB released players
Danni Wyatt-Hodge*
Sabbhineni Meghana
Nuzhat Parween
Georgia Wareham*
Kanika Ahuja
Sneh Rana
Renuka Singh
Ekta Bisht
Pramila Rawat
VJ Joshitha
Raghvi Bist
Jagravi Pawar
Charlie Dean*
Heather Graham*
Kim Garth*
UP Warriorz WPL 2026 retention
UPW retained players
Shweta Sehrawat
UPW released players
Kiran Navgire
Vrinda Dinesh
Alyssa Healy*
Georgia Voll*
Deepti Sharma
Grace Harris*
Poonam Khemnar
Sophie Ecclestone*
Tahlia McGrath*
Uma Chetry
Saima Thakor
Gouher Sultana
Anjali Sarvani
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Arushi Goel
Kranti Goud
Alana King*
Chinelle Henry*