India’s franchise-based women’s cricket league, i.e., the Women’s Premier League (WPL), created a landmark on Thursday when they held their first-ever mega auction for WPL 2026. All five teams were given a chance to retain a maximum of five players ahead of the auction, and the three-time finalists Delhi Capitals chose to use all five. All teams were given a ₹15-crore budget, out of which they had to retain players and use the remaining purse for the auction. Delhi Capitals’ five retentions meant they went into the mega auction with just ₹5.7 crore after spending ₹9.3 crore on player retention. However, they used the small purse with extreme intelligence, signing players who could prove to be match-winners for them.
WPL 2026: Delhi Capitals retained players
The three-time finalists used all five retention options ahead of the auction when they retained Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Niki Prasad from the India category, and Marizanne Kapp and Annabel Sutherland from the overseas category. Niki Prasad, since she was an uncapped Indian, was retained for ₹50 lakh, while all other players got ₹2.2 crore each with retention.
WPL 2026: Delhi Capitals sign big names in auction
Walking into the WPL 2026 mega auction with the joint-lowest purse, Delhi Capitals knew they had to buy with caution. However, they went big. They offered ₹3.2 crore for Deepti Sharma, but UP Warriorz used the RTM card to retain her. After that, DC shifted their focus towards other big names and signed players such as Chinelle Henry, Shree Charni and Laura Wolvaardt, proving they want to build a balanced side instead of going all out in one department.
Delhi Capitals’ all picks in the WPL 2026 mega auction:
| Player | Base Price | Winning Bid | Capped / Uncapped |
| Chinelle Henry | ₹30 Lac | ₹1.3 Cr | Capped |
| N. Charani | ₹30 Lac | ₹1.3 Cr | Capped |
| Laura Wolvaardt | ₹30 Lac | ₹1.1 Cr | Capped |
| Sneh Rana | ₹30 Lac | ₹50 Lac | Capped |
| Minnu Mani | ₹40 Lac | ₹40 Lac | Capped |
| Lizelle Lee | ₹30 Lac | ₹30 Lac | Capped |
| Taniyaa Bhatia | ₹30 Lac | ₹30 Lac | Capped |
| Nandni Sharma | ₹20 Lac | ₹20 Lac | Uncapped |
| Deeya Yadav | ₹10 Lac | ₹10 Lac | Uncapped |
| Mamatha Madiwala | ₹10 Lac | ₹10 Lac | Uncapped |
| Lucy Hamilton | ₹10 Lac | ₹10 Lac | Uncapped |

