The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has extended the Women’s Premier League (WPL) retention deadline. 

Initially, the WPL retention deadline was on October 15. However, the BCCI has now decided to extend the retention deadline to November 7. 

Five teams are participating in the WPL. These teams are Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and UP Warriorz. 

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Each WPL team has an INR 15 crore purse

While each team can have an 18-member squad, a maximum of six players can be overseas. For the WPL 2025, the BCCI will organise a mini-auction. The WPL season one (WPL 2023) started with an INR 12 crore purse, while it was increased to 13.5 crore for the second or last season. For the WPL 2025, the purse value will be INR 15 crore.

During the WPL retention deadline, each team can retain and release any number of players. After the retention deadline, the BCCI will organise a mini-auction. However, the details of the WPL 2025 mini-auction, including the date of the auction, haven’t been confirmed yet. 

Although the BCCI hasn’t confirmed the timeline for the WPL 2025 tournament, it is expected to be played as usual in the February-March window. While Mumbai (in two venues) hosted the complete inaugural edition of the WPL (WPL 2023), Bengaluru and Delhi hosted the WPL 2024. The BCCI hasn’t also clarified the WPL 2025 venues yet. 

WPL future

Talking about the future of the WPL, just like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the WPL may experience a mega auction after completing three editions. It means that we can see a mega auction for the WPL 2026. In this case, we can experience a special retention policy before any mega auction in the WPL, just like the IPL. 

According to the recent Cricbuzz report, the WPL 2026 can also experience the addition of a new team.