The ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 mega auction in Delhi witnessed a lot of pace today. According to available information, Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma received the highest bid and was bought by UP Warriors for Rs 3.2 crore. Let us tell you that this is considered to be one of the highest bids in the auction so far, on which all the teams were eyeing and the confidence in Deepti is also clearly visible.
The bidding on spinners was also special. It is noteworthy that Mr. Charni has been included in the team by Delhi Capitals for Rs 1.3 crore. Apart from this, Asha Sobhana has also been bought by UP Warriors for Rs 1.1 crore. Among the foreign players, Mumbai Indians have shown confidence in New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and signed her again for Rs 3 crore, while experienced Alyssa Healy and Indian wicketkeeper Uma Chhetri have remained unsold this time.
RCB has included fast bowler Arundhati Reddy (75 lakh) and all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar (85 lakh) in the team. Wicketkeeper Tania Bhatia has gone to Delhi, while Sajeevan Sajan is associated with Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Team India’s World Cup star Pratika Raval, who was suffering from injury for a long time, could not be requested by any team in this stage and she has remained unsold.
Making another big bet, UP Warriors have bought Shikha Pandey for Rs 2.4 crore, which is being counted among the premium purchases of the auction. Gujarat Giants have re-inducted Kashvi Gautam into the team for Rs 65 lakh using RTM. Earlier, veteran Deandra Dottin was also bought by UP Warriors for Rs 80 lakh.
Teams are now busy filling the final slots. According to the available information, Gujarat Giants currently has 12 slots vacant and around Rs 6 crores are available in the purse. Similarly, MI is left with Rs 1.95 crore, DC with Rs 1.1 crore, RCB with Rs 2.85 crore and UPW with Rs 4.65 crore.
Among the uncapped players, only Diya Yadav has been bought by Delhi for Rs 10 lakh. RTM card has also been used well. RCB got Prema Rawat back for 20 lakhs and MI has returned Sanskruti Gupta to the team.
The top buys so far include Deepti Sharma (3.2 crore), Amelia Kerr (3 crore), Sophie Devine (2 crore), Meg Lanning (1.9 crore) and Shree Charni (1.3 crore). Spinner Asha Sobhana has also been bought by UP Warriors at a good price. RCB has bought England’s Linzie Smith for Rs 30 lakh, while Alana King, Saika Ishaq and Amanda Wellington remain unsold.
Mumbai has signed South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail for Rs 60 lakh. Gujarat has bought Titas Sadhu for Rs 30 lakh. UP Warriors have bought Indian fast bowler Kranti Gaur for Rs 50 lakh and RCB has added England’s Lauren Bell for Rs 90 lakh. Delhi has included South Africa’s Liezel Lee in the team for Rs 30 lakh.
Meg Lanning (UPW – 1.9 Crore), Laura Wolvaardt (DC – 1.1 Crore), Renuka Singh (GG – 60 Lakh) have seen good bids in the marquee set. MI got Amelia Kerr back as retained for Rs 3 crore and UPW retained Sophie Ecclestone through RTM for Rs 85 lakh.
The advantage of UP Warriors having the highest purse is clearly visible. The team has greatly strengthened its team with players like Phoebe Litchfield (1.2 crore), Kiran Navgire (60 lakh), Meg Lanning, Deepti and Shikha. As the auction progresses, the picture is becoming more clear that this time there will be a very tough competition between the teams in the WPL and this season is going to be full of thrill.
This entire auction round also reflects the rapidly increasing investment and increasing popularity in women’s cricket, with the demand for both Indian and foreign players continuously increasing and this becoming the real strength of this league.