The WPL is all geared up for its third season with the franchises taking big calls on released and retained players. Some of the notable releases include Sneh Rana, Poonam Yadav, Heather Knight, and Lea Tahuhu. Now the focus is on an auction likely to take place in the first week of December, which has a purse that’s doubled to ₹15 crores.
This blog looks into released and retained players ahead of the WPL 2025 auction. Let’s see how all franchises are shaping up:
WPL 2025 Auction Released and Retained Players
Gujarat Giants
The Gujarat Giants GG had a bad show in both seasons of WPL and let go of most of its key players. For Gujarat Giants, Sneh Rana was the captain for the first season along with Lea Tahuhu and Kathryn Bryce, who are among the key releases. Rana’s abysmal record in two seasons, which includes six wickets and 47 runs, was big enough to contribute to the decision. Star players Beth Mooney, Ash Gardner, and Laura Wolvaardt were retained by GG; other released players include Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan, and Lauren Cheatle.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) released England captain Heather Knight and six others, including Nadine de Klerk, Shubha Satheesh, and Disha Kasat. However, they retained their core, keeping Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, and Richa Ghosh. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge was traded in from UP Warriorz.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals have surprisingly parted ways with veteran leg-spinner Poonam Yadav. Yadav hasn’t played an international match since 2022 and was not part of WPL last season. Other veteran players dropped by DC are Laura Harris, Aparna Mondal, and Ashwani Kumari. Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Marizanne Kapp are the retained stars.
Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians have to let go of Issy Wong, Fatima Jaffer, Humaira Kazi, and Priyanka Bala. They still have retained Harmanpreet Kaur with the bulk of their international backbone including Hayley Matthews, and Amelia Kerr. Shabnim Ismail and Nat Sciver-Brunt are coming on to shore up the bowling even further.
UP Warriorz
UP Warriorz made significant changes in their roster by releasing Lauren Bell, Parshavi Chopra, Laxmi Yadav, and S Yashasri. They kept stalwarts Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, and Tahlia McGrath. They had earlier traded Danielle Wyatt-Hodge to RCB.
Here’s a consolidated table listing all the players retained and released by each WPL team ahead of the 2025 season:
| Team | Retained Players | Released Players |
|---|---|---|
| Gujarat Giants (GG) | Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Laura Wolvaardt, Dayalan Hemalatha, Tanuja Kanwer, Shabnam Shakil, Phoebe Litchfield, Priya Mishra, Trisha Poojitha, Meghna Singh | Sneh Rana, Lea Tahuhu, Kathryn Bryce, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mannat Kashyap, Tarannum Pathan, Lauren Cheatle |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Sabbineni Meghana, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Wareham, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Ekta Bisht, Kanika Ahuja, Kate Cross, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (traded from UPW) | Heather Knight, Nadine de Klerk, Shubha Satheesh, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Simran Bahadur, Shraddha Pokarkar |
| Delhi Capitals (DC) | Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Taniyaa Bhatia, Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi, Titas Sadhu, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland | Poonam Yadav, Laura Harris, Aparna Mondal, Ashwini Kumari |
| Mumbai Indians (MI) | Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar, Jintimani Kalita, Amandeep Kaur, Amanjot Kaur, Shabnim Ismail, Yastika Bhatia, S Sajana, Keerthana Balakrishnan | Issy Wong, Fatima Jaffer, Humaira Kazi, Priyanka Bala |
| UP Warriorz (UPW) | Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Deepti Sharma, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Anjali Sarvani, Gouher Sultana, Poonam Khemnar, Uma Chetry, Vrinda Dinesh, Saima Thakor | Lauren Bell, Parshavi Chopra, Laxmi Yadav, S Yashasri |
With massive changes on all teams, the WPL 2025 auction will surely be interesting. The fans are eagerly waiting to see how the franchises spend their extra purse in strengthening their team.
Also, see: Thomas Draca becomes first Italian to register for an IPL auction