The WPL 2025 (Women’s Premier League) deadline for player retentions has been extended to November 7. Initially, the franchises had until October 15 to submit the list of players they wanted to keep.
However, on Tuesday (October 15), the BCCI notified the franchises of the extension of the deadline. They now have until November 7 to submit the list.
Each team can have an 18-member squad, including six abroad players, and, like the Indian Premier League (IPL), teams can release players each year. The BCCI will hold a mini-auction based on the retention, but the exact date has yet to be announced.
The auction purse for the third season is INR 15 crore, up from INR 12 crore in season one and INR 13.5 crore last season.
A New Team might be added to WPL after WPL 2025; a mega auction is to be held as well
After the third season next year, there may be a mega-auction and the addition of a new franchise, and the BCCI, as with the IPL, will be required to develop a retention strategy for the WPL. Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and UP Warriorz are currently part of the WPL.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, headed by Smriti Mandhana, are the reigning champions, whereas the Mumbai Indians, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, won the inaugural season.
The BCCI is yet to announce the dates and venues for the third season of the WPL. The competition is expected to take place in February-March, as it has in the previous two seasons. According to the Cricbuzz source, the precise venues have still to be determined, but the third season will take place in two locations.
The 22-game second edition was held in Bengaluru and New Delhi. The first season was entirely conducted in Mumbai.
The Indian women’s team’s head coach, Amol Muzumdar, believes that the first two editions of the WPL were critical in bringing depth to the national squad.
“I think WPL has been a very successful tournament so far in the last couple of editions. You have seen what response WPL has had. Obviously, the stats have helped and we have dug into a lot of statistics and we have seen the results. Some of the players that have come into the Indian squad here at the World Cup, I think are products of WPL as well. Of course, not undermining the first-class cricket as well back home, but WPL has given us a strong base to find players,” he said.
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