The Women’s Premier League (WPL) mini-auction for the upcoming 2025 season is scheduled to be held on December 15 in Bengaluru. Each of the five franchises has been increased with a budget of INR 15 crore, which was INR 13.5 crore last year, to build the squad for the upcoming cycle.
The WPL 2025 auction will be decorated in the presence of the England captain Heather Knight, the New Zealand fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, and the West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin, as the top international players will be in line for bidding at the mini-auction.
Among the Indian players, the potential bids for the franchises will be the all-rounder Sneh Rana, the leg spinner Poonam Yadav and the batter Veda Krishnamurthy. Rana didn’t enjoy a great season in 2024 with the Gujarat Giants Women as she failed to pick up a wicket in 10.2 overs, he bowled four innings with an economy rate of over ten.
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Poonam was part of the Delhi Capitals Women (DCW) franchise when she was part of three encounters and also couldn’t collect a single wicket with an economy rate of over eight. Veda also carried the same fate with a score of 1, 12, and 09 and a duck in the four fixtures of the previous WPL.
Heather Knight to enter WPL 2025 mini auction
The Delhi Capitals, led by Meg Lanning, were the runners-up during the 2023 and 2024 seasons when they lost to Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, respectively. They have the smallest purse of INR 2.5 crore, while the Gujarat side, who finished last in the first two seasons, will have the most cash, INR 4.4 crore.
The latter has aimed to rebuild almost the lion’s share of the side for the WPL 2025, having let go of as many as seven players from their roster. The defending champions, RCBW, have the incredible experience of the Indian vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, and the T20 World Cup-winning captain of the White Ferns, Sophie Devine. They also released seven players.
One of the seven players is Knight, who had pulled out of the previous season due to international commitments. They go in with a purse of INR 3.25 crore, as each of the squads can consist of a maximum of 18 players and can have a maximum of six overseas players.
Danny Wyatt-Hodge, the top-order batter for England, is the only member to be transferred during the pre-season of the trade window that closes in early November, with the RCB securing the deal thanks to the all-cash trade from the UP Warriorz (UPW). Danny didn’t feature for the UPW in any of the games, as the franchise ended at fourth in the last season.
The first season of the WPL took place entirely in Mumbai, while the 22 games in the second season were spread out between Delhi and Bengaluru. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is keen for the board to explore the home-and-away format going forward.
The third edition of the WPL will be played over three weeks in February-March 2025 before the start of the IPL. The event, however, will have a new window in January-February from 2026, as the new Women’s Future Tours Programme for the 2025-29 cycle confirms.
WPL 2025 Purse Details For All Five Franchises
Franchise | No. of Players | Money Spent (INR crore) | Available Purse (INR crore) | Available Slots | Overseas Slots |
DC | 14 | 12.5 | 2.50 | 04 | 01 |
GG | 14 | 10.6 | 4.40 | 04 | 02 |
MI | 14 | 12.35 | 2.65 | 04 | 01 |
RCB | 14 | 11.75 | 3.25 | 04 | 00 |
UPW | 15 | 11.10 | 3.90 | 03 | 01 |
Total | 71 | 58.30 | 16.70 | 19 | 05 |