The Women’s Premier League is gearing up for its fourth season, and the BCCI has announced the official retention rules for the u2026 mega auction: here are all the retention rules, dates, and budget breakdowns.
How many players can teams retain in WPL 2026?
According to Cricbuzz, the five teams will be allowed to retain up to five players from their existing squads of up to 18 members ahead of the mega auction, either through direct retention or by exercising the Right to Match option.
Out of these, teams can keep up to three Indian capped players, two overseas players, or two uncapped Indian players. If a team decides to retain all five players, at least one of them must be an uncapped Indian cricketer.
WPL 2026 player retention price slabs
The BCCI has introduced fixed price slabs for retained players, which will be deducted from each franchise’s total purse of INR 15 crore. The slabs are:
| Retention No. | Player Value (INR) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3.5 crore |
| 2 | 2.5 crore |
| 3 | 1.75 crore |
| 4 | 1 crore |
| 5 | 50 lakh |
Uncapped players will cost INR 50 lakh each. Franchises are allowed to pay more than these amounts, but any extra payment will also be deducted from their purse.
The more players a team retains, the less money it will have to spend on the auction. Teams that retain fewer players will have more funds available and more RTM cards to use.
When will the 2026 WPL auction be held?
The deadline for teams to finalise their retained players is November 5, and the WPL 2026 auction is expected to take place between November 26 and 29.
The last date for player registration is November 18, before the final auction list is released two days later.
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