The Women’s Premier League is set for its first mega auction since its inception. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, franchises have been formally told that they can retain up to five players ahead of the event that is slated to take place sometime between November 25-29. This sets the stage for a tactical off-season, where the teams will be strategising their retentions and releases for the next season.
The report claims that an internal mail has been sent to the franchises communicating the framework of the mega auction: retentions, Right-to-Match (RTM), slab-based purse deductions, and the deadlines. This will now trigger the managements to work out the compositions, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and then plan for the upcoming event.
Rules communicated to the franchises
Retention cap: Maximum five players per team. Three capped Indian players can be retained by the franchises. The maximum number of overseas players is two, while each team can retain two uncapped Indian players.
RTM: For the first time in WPL’s history, the franchises can use RTM. They can use the RTM cards to buy back a player from their 2025 squad by matching the final bid. The number of RTMs depends entirely on the players retained by the franchise, i.e., if a franchise retains five players, then no RTM would be available; if four players are retained, then one RTM and so on.
Purse and slabs: The auction purse for the mega auction would be fixed at ₹15 crores. The slabs for the retention of players are - ₹3.5 crore for the first retention, ₹2.5 cr for the second retention, ₹1.75 cr for the third retention, ₹1 cr for the fourth retention, and ₹50 Lakhs for the fifth retention. If a franchise chooses to use all five of their retentions, then ₹9.27 cr would be deducted from their auction purse. The hierarchy of purse deductions after that goes, ₹8.75 cr - 4 players, ₹7.75 cr - 3 players, ₹6 cr - 2 players, and ₹3.5 cr would be deducted if you retain only one player.
{{/usCountry}}Purse and slabs: The auction purse for the mega auction would be fixed at ₹15 crores. The slabs for the retention of players are - ₹3.5 crore for the first retention, ₹2.5 cr for the second retention, ₹1.75 cr for the third retention, ₹1 cr for the fourth retention, and ₹50 Lakhs for the fifth retention. If a franchise chooses to use all five of their retentions, then ₹9.27 cr would be deducted from their auction purse. The hierarchy of purse deductions after that goes, ₹8.75 cr - 4 players, ₹7.75 cr - 3 players, ₹6 cr - 2 players, and ₹3.5 cr would be deducted if you retain only one player.
{{/usCountry}}Important timelines leading to the mega auction
- November 5: last date to submit retention lists
- November 7: last date to submit auction target lists
- November 18: last date of registration for players
- November 20: final auction list of players to be released
- November 25-29: tentative window for mega-auction