WPL 2027 auction in Kochi: 146 players up for grabs across 27 squad spots
Five Women's Premier League franchises meet in Kochi to fill 27 slots from a pool of 146 players ahead of the fifth edition.
The WPL 2027 auction takes place in Kochi on Wednesday at 5:30 PM, with 146 players available for 27 squad spots across five franchises. UP Warriorz holds the largest purse of Rs 3.75 crore and eight open slots, while Mumbai Indians has six slots and Rs 90 lakh.
Key takeaways
- The auction will be held in Kochi on Wednesday at 5:30 PM.
- 146 players are in the pool, including 119 Indians and 27 overseas cricketers.
- There are 27 squad spots available across the five franchises.
- UP Warriorz has eight slots and a Rs 3.75 crore purse.
- Mumbai Indians has six slots and a Rs 90 lakh purse.
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2027 auction will take place in Kochi on Wednesday, starting at 5:30 PM, as all five franchises aim to finalise their squads ahead of the tournament’s fifth edition. A total of 146 players will go under the hammer, with 27 slots available across the five teams. Among the players expected to attract interest are Indian cricketers G Kamalini, Sneh Rana and Sushma Verma, alongside Australian stars Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen and Sophie Molineux.
Why it matters
The fifth season of the TATA WPL takes place from January 14 to February 7. While four-time finalists Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz aim for their maiden title, RCB and MI will be keen to add to their titles as the teams lock in on their squads in Kochi. Defending champions RCB will count on the availability of star all-rounder Ellyse Perry for the upcoming season, focusing their strategy on securing domestic backups to pursue a historic third championship.
What we know
UP Warriorz (UPW), with eight slots to fill and a purse of Rs 3.75 crore to spend, will be the most active team in the auction. Mumbai Indians (MI) have six slots left to fill; however, they have just Rs 90 lakh left in the purse. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Giants (GG), the three teams that qualified for the playoffs last season, retained most of their core and need to fill only a few slots. The pool comprises 22 capped Indian players and 97 uncapped Indian players, making it an important opportunity for domestic talents hoping to secure a place in the competition.
Player profiles
G Kamalini has played five T20Is for India so far, scoring 30 runs. At 18, she is among the youngest players in the auction pool. The Tamil Nadu cricketer has previously played for Mumbai Indians (MI), making her WPL debut in 2025. She was also part of India’s victorious team at the 2025 Women’s U19 T20 World Cup, and was the third-highest run-getter in that tournament with 143 runs from seven matches. That performance eventually led her to earning her maiden senior India cap in December 2025 during a T20I against Sri Lanka. Kamalini’s wicketkeeping skills, left-handed batting and potential to develop into a dependable top-order option make her an attractive prospect.
More players to watch
Kiran Navgire is one of the most explosive Indian batters available at the auction. The Maharashtra batter has built a reputation for her ability to clear the boundary and score quickly in the middle order. She has represented UP Warriorz since the inaugural WPL season in 2023. Navgire has accumulated 435 runs in 31 WPL appearances, including three half-centuries. Her best WPL season came in 2025, when she scored 154 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 173.03. However, she had a relatively difficult 2026 campaign, managing just 16 runs in six appearances.
Experienced options
Sneh Rana brings international experience and an all-round skillset to the auction pool. The off-spinner has represented Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals in the WPL. Rana has played 27 WPL matches, taking 13 wickets and scoring 136 runs. The 32-year-old has played six Tests, 45 ODIs and 31 T20Is for India since making her senior international debut in 2014. She was released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the WPL 2027 auction.
Younger names
Raghvi Bist has also had prior WPL experience, having played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 WPL season. She was released by RCB ahead of WPL 2026, and went unsold at the WPL 2026 auction in November last year. Bist, 22, is among the younger Indian names in the auction pool. Despite going unsold in WPL 2026, her brief experience in the WPL could give her an advantage over several domestic players who are yet to feature in the competition. Bist played seven matches in WPL 2025 and scored 95 runs.
International debutant
Tejal Hasabnis is a right-handed middle-order player who can also contribute with her off-spin bowling. She made her international debut in an ODI against New Zealand in October 2024, scoring 42 runs. Her first international half-century came against Ireland in January 2025, when she scored an unbeaten 51.
What happens next
The auction will begin at 5:30 PM in Kochi on Wednesday. JioStar expert Veda Krishnamurthy highlighted that Indian wicketkeepers will be in demand, with at least three teams looking for their first-choice keepers at the auction. Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Follow the Blues: The Dawn of Captain Smriti’, RCB captain Smriti Mandhana said: “The WPL has been a huge benefit in that we have found quite a few players in the WPL, but now it’s our responsibility to figure out how we take them forward and make them into bigger match-winners. We definitely have exciting talent in our team right now. We have eight to nine people aged 19-24, which is pretty exciting. They have all played good cricket during the India A series. We have followed everything, and they have played very good cricket. So now it’s on us to take them forward and make them lead the way for India.” Krishnamurthy added that it will also be interesting to see how things unfold around G Kamalini and which teams look to acquire her, as she’s a wicketkeeper as well. The options and the number of slots available are very limited. Teams know exactly what they’re looking for, so it’s important for them to filter the names from the available cricketers and identify their options. They need to have at least three or four names for each proficiency because the auction can go in any direction.
Franchise purse and open slots for WPL 2027 auction
Team | Open slots | Purse |
|---|---|---|
UP Warriorz | 8 | Rs 3.75 crore |
Mumbai Indians | 6 | Rs 90 lakh |
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