Recently, BCCI announced that WPL 2026 will kick off in early January. Regarding its preparation, the WPL organizing body provided permission to each franchise to retain or re-sign up to five players from its current squad.
Players can be acquired through two methods:
- Direct retention before the auction
- Right to Match (RTM) option during the auction
Deadline For Player Retention and Registration For WPL 2026
All franchises need to confirm their retained players by November 5. Following the completion of the retention process, the WPL mega auction is planned to take place between November 26 and 29, where teams will have the opportunity to build their squads for the upcoming season through competitive bidding.
Apart from the franchise, the BCCI has also set the deadline for new players to register for the WPL 2026 auction. Players can register themselves by November 18, ahead of the auction. After reviewing all submissions, the final list of registered players who qualify for the auction will be released on November 20.
Rules For Player Retention For WPL 2026
Each team can spend a maximum of INR 15 crore to fill their squad, which should have Indian capped players, Indian uncapped players, and foreign players.
BCCI has made certain rules for player retention ahead of the WPL 2026 auction:
- A franchise may retain up to five players before the auction.
- Within these five, the maximum limits are:
- Three Indian capped players (players who have represented India in official international matches)
- Two overseas players or two uncapped Indian players (players without international experience for India)
- If a team decides to retain five players, at least one of these must be an uncapped Indian player.
- Teams can choose any combination within these limits, but they cannot exceed the set maximum in each category.
After retaining 5 players, each team needs to arrange them to set their retention price according to the BCCI retention price categories.
The salary deduction from the franchise purse for the five retention players is:
- 1st retained player: ₹3.50 crore
- 2nd retained player: ₹2.50 crore
- 3rd retained player: ₹1.75 crore
- 4th retained player: ₹1.00 crore
- 5th retained player: ₹50 lakh
Notably, each team has a purse of 15 crore to complete their squad ahead of the 2026 edition. If each team retains its five players before the mega auction, it will be left with only 5.75 crore to purchase its remaining squad.
Use Of RTM During WPL Auction
Apart from this, each team has the right to a match (RTM) card and a maximum number of RTM cards to use, based on the number of players they retain before the auction.
- 5 retained players: No RTM cards
- 4 retained players: 1 RTM card
- 3 retained players: 2 RTM cards
- 2 retained players: 3 RTM cards
- 1 retained player: 4 RTM cards
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Conclusion: WPL Auction Will Take Place Between November 26 and 29
With the November deadlines for retention and registration for WPL 2026, franchises will finalize their strongest squads. Fans can expect an exciting WPL 2026 auction between November 26 and 29, where new talents and international stars will find their places.
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