WPL 2025: On Thursday (November 07), all five franchises of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) revealed their retention list which included a total of 71 players, including 25 overseas star performers.
Furthermore, the BCCI has upgraded each team’s auction purse from INR 13.5 crores (in 2024) to INR 15 crores (in 2025).
The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) successfully retained the captain Smriti Mandhana and has a left-over purse amount of INR 3.25 crores after releasing seven players including England skipper Heather Knight.
On the other side, the inaugural season champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have released their hattrick star, Issy Wong along with the other three Indian players.
As expected, the Australian cricketer Meg Lanning continues to lead Delhi Capitals (DC) for the third season of the WPL. However, the biggest surprise was Gujarat Giants (GG) letting go of their stand-in captain Sneh Rana in addition to releasing a few more players resulting in having the largest purse of INR 4.4 crores to spend during the WPL 2025 auction.
Although UP Warriorz (UPW) has done a decent job by releasing a few non-performers, the team should have retained Lauren Bell.
All the franchises are allowed to have 18 players in the squad with a maximum limit of six overseas players for the forthcoming edition of the WPL.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Released Players: 7
RCB aims for its second WPL title by retaining the captain Smriti Mandhana along with 14 players while releasing seven players from the squad. In the previous month, the franchise traded England batter Danni Wyatt from UP Warriorz for INR 30 lakhs.
To increase the team’s fearless approach, RCB released seven players from the squad to acquire highly talented players during the auction.
- Vacant Slots: 4
- Purse Remaining for WPL 2025 Auction: INR 3.25 crores
- Overseas Players Released: 2
- Indian Players Released: 5
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Disha Kasat | India | Batter |
| 2. | Indrani Roy | India | Batter and Wicketkeeper |
| 3. | Nadine de Klerk | South Africa | Batting Allrounder |
| 4. | Shubha Satheesh | India | Batting Allrounder |
| 5. | Shraddha Pokharkar | India | Bowler |
| 6. | Simran Bahadur | India | Bowler |
| 7. | Heather Knight | England | Batting Allrounder |
Gujarat Giants Released Players: 6
After concluding at the last position in the 2023 and 2024 season points table, Gujarat Giants with the largest remaining purse of INR 4.4 crores can make huge changes in the squad by acquiring high-profile crickets. However, it was an unexpected move by the franchise to release Sneh Rana, who led her team in Beth Mooney’s absence due to injury. Additionally, letting go the overseas players such as Lea Tahuhu, and Kathryn Bryce leaves the spot for GG to acquire other talented foreigners into the squad.
- Vacant Slots: 4
- Purse Remaining for WPL 2025 Auction: INR 4.4 crores
- Overseas Players Released: 2
- Indian Players Released: 4
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Sneh Rana | India | Bowler |
| 2. | Lea Tahuhu | New Zealand | Bowler |
| 3. | Kathryn Bryce | Scotland | Bowling Allrounder |
| 4. | Trisha Poojitha | India | Batter |
| 5. | Tarannum Pathan | India | Bowling Allrounder |
| 6. | Veda Krishnamurthy | India | Batter |
UP Warriorz Released Players: 5
Although, the UP Warriorz tried their level best to qualify for the WPL 2023 playoffs, but had to experience a less successful season in 2024. A hefty purse of INR 3.9 crores gives a motivation to implement unique strategies. Furthermore, releasing players such as Lauren Bell, Parshavi Chopra, and Laxmi Yadav focuses on strengthening their core group of players.
- Vacant Slots: 3
- Purse Remaining for WPL 2025 Auction: INR 3.9 crores
- Overseas Players Released: 2
- Indian Players Released: 3
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Laxmi Yadav | India | Bowler |
| 2. | Parshavi Chopra | India | Bowling Allrounder |
| 3. | Lauren Bell | England | Bowler |
| 4. | Soppadhandi Yashasri | India | Bowling Allrounder |
| 5. | Danny Wyatt-Hodge (traded to RCB) | England | Batter |
Delhi Capitals Released Players: 4
Even after ranking as the table toppers in the league stages of both seasons, Delhi Capitals concluded as the runner-up by losing both its finals to Mumbai Indians in 2023 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024. However, the franchise has decided to rectify the weaknesses by releasing four players and has just INR 2.50 crores left to spend at the auction.
- Vacant Slots: 4
- Purse Remaining for WPL 2025 Auction: INR 2.50 crores
- Overseas Players Released: 1
- Indian Players Released: 3
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Laura Harris | Australia | Batter |
| 2. | Poonam Yadav | India | Bowler |
| 3. | Ashwani Kumari | India | Bowler |
| 4. | Aparna Mondal | India | Bowler |
Mumbai Indians Released Players: 4
A majority of the squad has been retained by the Mumbai Indians including the team’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Despite having a strong line-up in the previous season, MI faced an exit in the eliminator round against RCB. But, a strong record of 13 victories in 19 matches of the two seasons highlights the team’s ability to compete. To improve their batting depth and increase the left-right-handed batting combination, MI has released four players ahead of the auction.
- Vacant Slots: 4
- Purse Remaining for WPL 2025 Auction: INR 2.65 Crores
- Overseas Players Released: 1
- Indian Players Released: 3
| S.No | Player | Nation | Role |
| 1. | Issy Wong | England | Bowler |
| 2. | Fatima Jaffer | India | Bowler |
| 3. | Humaira Kazi | India | Batting Allrounder |
| 4. | Priyanka Bala | India | Batter and Wicketkeeper |
