KOCHI: The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2027 auction was held in Kochi on Wednesday, with the five franchises completing their squads ahead of the fifth edition of the tournament. The season will run from January 14 to February 7, and the auction was the final chance for teams to fill the gaps left after the retention and release announcements.
Australia captain Sophie Molineux earned the biggest pay cheque of the auction, going to UP Warriorz for Rs 1.10 crore. Indian batter Kiran Navgire was the most expensive Indian player sold on the night, signed by Delhi Capitals for Rs 75 lakh. Those two deals set the tone for an evening in which franchises balanced proven international quality with emerging Indian talent.
The auction had been preceded by a shortlist of 146 players competing for a limited number of squad places, including 119 Indian players and 27 overseas cricketers. Among the Indian players, 22 were capped and 97 uncapped, while the overseas group featured 14 capped and 13 uncapped players, including six from Associate nations.
With so few places available, competition for a contract was intense, particularly for players hoping to secure a first WPL deal or to return to the tournament after being released.
UP Warriorz entered the auction with the most work to do and the most money to spend, holding a purse of Rs 3.75 crore and eight slots to fill. They used it decisively. Alongside Molineux, they signed Grace Harris for Rs 30 lakh, Sneh Rana for Rs 30 lakh, Asha Sobhana for Rs 30 lakh and Sushma Verma for Rs 30 lakh, with Kathryn Bryce, Manali Dakshini and Sahana Pawar each joining for Rs 10 lakh.
Their final squad is led by Meg Lanning and also features Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh and Pratika Rawal.
Delhi Capitals, captained by Jemimah Rodrigues, made Navgire their headline signing at Rs 75 lakh, adding Kirstie Gordon, Uma Kashvi and Nazma Khan for Rs 10 lakh each.
Their squad combines established internationals with young Indian players: Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Annabel Sutherland, Niki Prasad, Sree Charani, Deeya Yadav, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandni Sharma, Lucy Hamilton and Minnu Mani complete the roster alongside the captain and the new signings.
Mumbai Indians, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, added Shweta Sehrawat for Rs 20 lakh, with Akshita Bhagat, Saanika Chalke, Latika Inamdar, Disha Kasat and Bharti Rawal each signed for Rs 10 lakh. Their squad retains a formidable core: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Amanjot Kaur, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajana Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Vaishnavi Sharma and Tara Norris.
Mumbai's approach was to strengthen depth around a settled group of match-winners rather than rebuild.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions, made the fewest changes of any franchise, releasing only four players before the auction. They signed Jess Jonassen for Rs 40 lakh, Tejal Hasabnis for Rs 30 lakh, Chloe Tryon for Rs 30 lakh and Vrinda Dinesh for Rs 10 lakh.
Their squad, captained by Smriti Mandhana, also includes Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Lauren Bell, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Prema Rawat, Sayali Satghare and Kumar Prathyoosha. Perry's return is a significant boost, after she missed last season for personal reasons.
Gujarat Giants signed G. Kamalini for Rs 40 lakh, Orla Prendergast for Rs 30 lakh and Samaira Raghav for Rs 10 lakh. Their squad features Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Yastika Bhatia, Anushka Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Happy Kumari and Jintimani Kalita.
Gujarat had entered the auction with Rs 1.25 crore and three slots to fill, the smallest shopping list of the five teams.
The different shapes of each squad reflect different strategies. UP Warriorz, with the largest purse and the most vacancies, could afford to chase the biggest name in the auction and add experience across departments. Delhi Capitals, with Rs 1.10 crore and five slots, targeted a powerful Indian batter in Navgire to strengthen their top order.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with Rs 1.15 crore and five slots, trusted a championship-winning core and added only where needed. Mumbai Indians, with the smallest remaining purse at Rs 90 lakh, had to be economical, filling six places largely at base price.
For the players, the auction can change careers. A contract in the WPL brings not only a fee but exposure, high-quality coaching and the chance to play alongside and against the best players in the world. For uncapped Indian players, a season in the league can be the fastest route to national recognition, as performances in front of large television audiences and national selectors carry weight far beyond domestic cricket.
For the league, the fifth season is another step in its rapid growth. The WPL has, in a short time, become one of the most watched women's cricket competitions in the world, and the quality of its squads now reflects a deepening pool of talent. The presence of established stars such as Mandhana, Harmanpreet, Lanning, Perry and Ecclestone, alongside emerging names, gives each franchise a recognisable identity and each match a contest worth watching.
On paper, each squad has a distinct shape. UP Warriorz look strong in spin, with Ecclestone, Sobhana and Molineux offering variety, while Mumbai Indians retain one of the most feared pace attacks in the league in Ismail, supported by the all-round quality of Sciver-Brunt and Matthews.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's batting, built around Mandhana, Perry and Ghosh, remains the envy of the league, and Delhi Capitals will look to Shafali Verma, Wolvaardt and Rodrigues to give them fast starts. Gujarat Giants, meanwhile, will lean on the all-round experience of Gardner and Devine to balance a squad that blends youth with proven international performers.
Attention now turns to the season itself, from January 14 to February 7. The squads are set, the captains are in place, and the auction's biggest winners will be judged not by the prices they commanded in Kochi but by the runs, wickets and catches they produce when the tournament begins.
(Reporting based on Sportstar, WIO News and The Indian Express.)