WPL 2026 Retention: Full Guide To Retention Rules, Budget Slabs, Deadline Date And Purse Remaining

Following the completion of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, the attention will move to the Women's Premier League (WPL) in India. Premier female cricketers from around the globe will arrive in India to compete in franchise cricket and aim for the coveted title.

The excitement starts with the WPL 2026 mega auction, where all teams will undergo a significant overhaul. The five franchises have begun strategising their lists of cricketers they are eyeing, as well as the ones they are looking to retain.

WPL 2026 Auction And Retention Rules Explained

For the Women's Premier League in 2026, the league governing council will allow the retention of five players, with November 5 set as the deadline date to announce the retained cricketers. All the franchises are expected to reveal their list of retentions by 05:00 PM IST.

If a WPL franchise did not retain a player until the deadline date, they could use the Right to Match (RTM) option in the mega auction.

What Is The Available Purse For Every WPL Franchise?

Every WPL franchise would have an INR 15 crore purse to re-establish their squad for the upcoming 2026 season.

Also Read: Maharashtra Government Announces Cash Reward For Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues And Radha Yadav After Women's World Cup Glory

What Are the Retention Rules And Player Budget Tiers?

Under the revised norms, the WPL franchises can retain three capped Indian players, two overseas players or two uncapped Indian players. In case the team chooses to retain all five, at least one cricketer needs to be an uncapped Indian cricketer.

Number One Retention: INR 3.50 crore

Number Two Retention: INR 2.50 crore

Number Three Retention: INR 1.75 crore

Number Four Retention: INR 1.0 crore

Number Five Retention: INR 0.5 crore

If a franchise retains all five players, INR 9.25 crore will be deducted from their purse, and they will have the RTM option. The teams that will keep four players will have INR 8.75 crore deducted from their pocket, but they will have one RTM card. Three retentions will have two RTM cards, and so on.

Every uncapped player will cost INR 50 lakhs, but the franchise has the immunity to play more, and the excess amount will be cut off from their auction purse.

When Will The WPL 2026 Take Place?

The mega auction for the Women's Premier League (WPL) is expected to happen between November 25 and 29, according to ESPNcricinfo. The tournament would have an early start to accommodate the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in February-March. window

Also Read: Explained: Why Praika Rawal Didn't Receive A Women's World Cup Medal Despite Being India's Second-Highest Scorer

Five franchises will be in action in a round-robin format, with 22 matches happening across a 4-5-week period. The top three teams will advance to the knockout stage, and the final will crown the champion.

The Mumbai Indians are the defending champions of the Women's Premier League, having defeated the Delhi Capitals in the summit clash at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.