The Women’s Premier League (WPL 2025) franchises have announced the retentions and releases of players ahead of the third edition of the third edition of the tournament. The WPL 2025 auction is likely in December and purse has been increased to INR 15 Cr.
The two tournament-winning captains, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have been retained by their respective franchises Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Fans across India are ecstatic as clubs such as the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Gujarat Giants reveal their rosters of retained players on Thursday.
Here is the complete list of franchise-wise players retained and released ahead of WPL 2025:
Mumbai Indians (MI):
The Mumbai Indians (MI) have retained 14 players, including major contributors such as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, and standout all-rounders Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews.
The club retains a solid core from its famed "Batch of 2024," with players like Shabnim Ismail and Yastika Bhatia expected to return.
MI did, however, say goodbye to fan favorites such as Issy Wong, famed for her historic WPL hat trick, as well as Humairaa Kaazi, Fatima Jaffer, and Priyanka Bala, allowing room for new faces in the 2025 auction.
Retained: Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Hayley Matthews, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Sajeevan Sajana, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque, Amanjot Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, Keerthana.
Released: Issy Wong, Fatima Jaffer, Humaira Kazi, Priyanka Bala
Remaining slots: 4; Purse Remaining: Rs 2.65 crore
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB):
The WPL 2024 winners and defending champions RCB have retained their captain Smriti Mandhana, to begin with. They have also decided to retain the majority of their title-winning players including the likes of Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil. They already have traded in Danielly Wyatt-Hodge before the auction happened.
Retained: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh, Sophie Molineux, Ekta Bisht, Kate Cross, Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Traded)
Released: Heather Knight, Nadine de Klerk, Shubha Satheesh, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Simran Bahadur, Shraddha Pokharkar
Purse remaining: INR 3.25 crore; Slots remaining: 4
Delhi Capitals (DC):
The two-time runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have also retained their core including captain Meg Lanning and opener Shafali Verma. Other notable players retained by DC include Jemimah Rodrigues and all-rounder Marizanne Kapp.
The Capitals, who finished second in both previous seasons, released Laura Harris, Poonam Yadav, Ashwani Kumari, and Aparna Mondal to restructure their squad and compete for their first WPL title.
With a budget of INR 2.5 crores, Delhi's team has the flexibility to acquire significant players in the auction to enhance their squad further.
Retained: Meg Lanning (c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia, Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Jess Jonassen, Titas Sadhu, Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi
Released: Laura Harris, Ashwani Kumari, Poonam Yadav, Aparna Mondal
Purse remaining: INR 2.5 crore; Slots remaining: 4
Gujarat Giants (GG):
The Gujarat Giants kept captain Beth Mooney and other top performers like Laura Wolvaardt, Ash Gardner, and Harleen Deol. However, in a surprising move, they have GG, who finished at the bottom of the table in both seasons, let go of Sneh Rana.
The all-rounder had captained them in WPL 2023 after Mooney got injured. Apart from Rana, Giants also parted ways with Lea Tahuhu, Mannat Kashyap, and Veda Krishnamurthy.
The Giants have decided to retain the likes of Shabnam Shakil, Phoebe Litchfield, and D Hemalatha amongst the 14 players they kept for WPL 2025. Their goal for 2025 is to construct a balanced lineup capable of competing with the elite clubs.
Retained: Beth Mooney, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Tanuja Kanwar, Shabnam Shakil, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh
Released: Lea Tahuhu, Kathryn Bryce, Sneh Rana, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan, Lauren Cheatle
Purse remaining: INR 4.4 crore; Slots remaining: 4
UP Warriorz (UPW)
UP Warriorz (UPW) made the playoffs after finishing third on the table in the first season but only finished No. 4 in 2024. They have decided to retain key players like captain Alyssa Healy, Deepti Sharma, Kiran Navgire, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone, and Tahlia McGrath.
Keeper Uma Chetry, who missed the WPL 2024 due to injury, remains part of the squad. UPW had earlier traded Danni Wyatt-Hodge to RCB.
Amongst the notable names released by UPW were England pacer Lauren Bell, and Parshavi Chopra.
Retained: Alyssa Healy, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor, Anjali Sarvani, Gouher Sultana, Poonam Khemnar, Uma Chetry, Vrinda Dinesh
Released: Parshavi Chopra, Laxmi Yadav, S Yashasri, Lauren Bell
Purse remaining: INR 3.90 crore; Slots remaining: 3
(PTI inputs)
