The third Women's Premier League (WPL) auction will have 120 players on offer to fill a maximum of 19 slots. Four teams have four spots remaining while one team has three. Here, we look at what each team needs at the auction on December 15.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Slots remaining: 4 (1 overseas)
Purse remaining: INR 2.5 crore
Retained players: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia, Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Annabel Sutherland
What they need at the auction
A back-up wicketkeeper and a spare hard-hitting batter. They could also do with a frontline fast-bowling option as a back-up for Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey. One of Lauren Bell and Kim Garth, or the left-arm angle of Lauren Cheatle, could fit the bill. The legspin of Alana King will also be on their mind since they have let go of Poonam Yadav.
Gujarat Giants (GG)
Slots remaining : 4 (2 overseas)
Purse remaining: INR 4.4 crore
Retained players: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Tanuja Kanwar, Shabnam Shakil, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Meghna Singh, Mannat Kashyap, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Sayali Satghare, Bharti Fulmali
What they need at the auction
Strong bowling options. GG were the least economical bowling unit in WPL 2024 (8.53) and significantly expensive at the death - they had an economy rate of 11.11 with the second-poorest (Mumbai Indians) at 9.75. That partially explains why they released four bowling options in Sneh Rana, Lea Tahuhu, Kathryn Bryce and Cheatle. That could bring Darcie Brown and Tess Flintoff into contention - the former for her pace and abilities specially with the new ball, the latter for her hard-hitting apart from her seam-bowling.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Slots remaining: 4 (1 overseas)
Purse remaining: INR 2.65 crore
Retained players: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Amanjot Kaur, Saika Ishaque, Hayley Matthews, Chloe Tryon, Jintimani Kalita, Shabnim Ismail, Sajeevan Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, SB Keerthana
What they need at the auction
MI have been far too reliant on their top order and should look to add a strong lower-middle-order batting option, essentially a finisher. Having released Issy Wong, they could look to target Nadine de Klerk, who bowls seam and adds firepower to the lower-middle order, or West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin. An injury-ridden season for Bhatia could also prompt them to look for a back-up wicketkeeper, possibly Uttarakhand's Nandini Kashyap, who raked up runs at a quick rate in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy as well as the Senior Women's T20 Challenger Trophy.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Slots remaining: 4 (0 overseas)
Purse remaining: INR 3.25 crore
Retained players: Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja, Asha Sobhana, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht, S Meghana, Sophie Molineux
Traded in: Danni Wyatt (from UP Warriorz)
What they need at the auction
Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine combined for over 50% of the overs pace bowlers bowled for RCB in their title-winning campaign in WPL 2024. Perry and Devine shoulder much lesser bowling loads for their national sides, so RCB could look at a frontline fast bowler to partner Renuka Singh. They could look at S Yashasri or Falak Naz, both part of the Under-19 T20 World Cup win last year. Mandhana's Maharashtra team-mate, Shradda Pokharkar, a replacement for them last year, could also offer a left-arm angle. A middle-order batting option could be handy, too, with Bengal's Tanusree Sarkar or Maharashtra's Tejal Hasabnis possible options.
UP Warriorz (UPW)
Slots remaining: 3 players (1 overseas)
Purse remaining: INR 3.9 crore
Retained players: Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana, Chamari Athapaththu, Uma Chetry
What they need at the auction
Firstly, a few Indian batters to reduce UPW's over-reliance on their overseas names. They also need a finisher to reduce the load on Deepti Sharma. Having released Bell, they should also target a pedigreed fast-bowling option. They could look at Dottin for the power down the order and her seam bowling. Chinelle Henry could be another option, if they don't manage to buy Flintoff. UPW also have the option of going left-field with Ireland's Orla Prendergast, who has had an impressive all-round year in T20Is.