All-rounder Deepti Sharma emerged as the most expensive buy at the Women’s Premier League 2026 mega auction on Thursday, rejoining UP Warriorz for a whopping 3.2 crore. The franchise exercised its Right to Match card to secure the 28-year-old after Delhi Capitals placed the opening bid at her base price of 50 lakh.
This price tag makes Deepti the joint-second-most expensive player in WPL auction history, trailing only Smriti Mandhana’s inaugural season bid of 3.4 crore. The auction saw a total of 67 players sold, with franchises collectively spending 40.8 crore to finalize their squads ahead of the season starting January 9.
Armed with the largest purse of 14.5 crore, UP Warriorz were the most active franchise, making several high-profile acquisitions. In addition to Deepti, they secured veteran pacer Shikha Pandey for 2.4 crore after a bidding war with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Warriorz also added former Australian captain Meg Lanning for 1.9 crore and promising young talent Phoebe Litchfield for 1.2 crore.
They utilized RTM cards effectively to bring back key players like Sophie Ecclestone, Kranti Gaud, and Kiran Navgire, ensuring a blend of familiar faces and experienced new recruits.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians focused on retaining their core strength, splashing 3 crore to bring back New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr. The franchise also added Shabnim Ismail and Indian talent Sajana Sajeevan to bolster their squad.
Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, invested in youth and experience, purchasing left-arm spinner Shree Charani for 1.3 crore following her impressive World Cup campaign. After missing out on Lanning, they secured South African opener Laura Wolvaardt for 1.1 crore, with co-owner Parth Jindal confirming that the team would be led by an Indian captain.
Gujarat Giants, possessing the second-highest purse, bought in Sophie Devine for 2 crore and uncapped Indian player Anushka Sharma for 45 lakh. However, the auction threw up some major surprises, most notably with Australian captain Alyssa Healy going unsold despite her base price of 50 lakh.
Other prominent unsold names included Alana King and several high-performing uncapped Indian players like Vaishnavi Sharma and Humairaa Kaazi, who had topped domestic charts recently.
RCB did not breach the crore mark for any single player, instead building a balanced squad with English pacer Lauren Bell for 90 lakh, followed closely by Indian all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar for 85 lakh, World Cup winners Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav for 75 lakh and 65 lakh respectively. Other notable additions included Grace Harris, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Voll.
