The Women's Premier League (WPL) auction for the 2025 season is set to be held on December 15 in Bengaluru. Each of the five franchises have a total budget of INR 15 crore, up from INR 13.5 crore last year, to build their squads.
England captain Heather Knight, New Zealand fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, and West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin will be among some of the top international stars who will be up for bidding at the mini auction.
Among notable Indian names who will be looking at potential bids are allrounder Sneh Rana, legspinner Poonam Yadav, and batter Veda Krishnamurthy.
Delhi Capitals, led by Meg Lanning, and runners-up in 2023 and 2024, have the smallest purse of INR 2.5 crores, while Gujarat Giants, who finished last in the first two editions, will have the most cash, INR 4.4 crore, to spend in rebuilding their squad after letting go of as many as seven players from their roster.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have in their mix India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and New Zealand's T20 World Cup-wining captain Sophie Devine, also released seven players. Among them is Knight, who had pulled out of the previous season due to international commitments. RCB go in with a purse of INR 3.25 crore Each squad can comprise of a maximum of 18 players and can have a maximum of six overseas players.
England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the only player to be transferred during the pre-season trade window that closed in early November, with RCB securing a deal through an all-cash trade from UP Warriorz (UPW). Wyatt-Hodge didn't feature in a single game for UPW in 2024, who had finished fourth last season.
The inaugural WPL was held entirely in Mumbai, while the 22 games in the second season were spread out between Bengaluru and New Delhi. The BCCI is keen on continuing the caravan model by introducing new venues slowly, although teams are keen for the board to explore the home-and-away format going forward.
The third edition of the five-team tournament will be played over a three-week window in February-March 2025, before the tournament finds a new window in January-February from 2026, as per the new women's Future Tours Programme for the 2025-29 cycle.