New Delhi: The first season of WPL (Women’s Premier League), was a huge success as it saw a great rise in the craze of women’s cricket in India.
From stadium to online streaming to TV broadcast, the tournament was a huge success, and people were keen to watch their favourite women cricketers in action.
The tournament banked on the popularity of IPL and is on its way to getting a fan base of its own. The auction for the second season is scheduled to place on December 9 in Mumbai.
The WPL auction is set for December 9 in Mumbai, with each team having a salary cap of Rs 13.5 crore. The league is expected to take place in February, and while venues are undecided, there might be multiple locations, possibly deviating from a home-away format. (Cricbuzz) pic.twitter.com/yUbfnAB750
— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952_) November 24, 2023
Viacom18 Sports CEO, Anil Jayaraj, after the tournament said, “Our vision is to nurture TATA WPL into the biggest women’s sporting league in the world, and this is a big leap in that direction. To see it already on its way to becoming the largest viewed sports event in the world in the first season is a remarkable feat and testament to the potential.”
The first season of the WPL featured 5 teams. It was concluded on March 26, 2023, when Mumbai Indians Women defeated the Delhi Capitals Women by 7 wickets to be crowned as the inaugural champions.
Retention list
After the conclusion of WPL 2023, all the franchises started to plan for their preparation for the next season.
All the teams were requested to submit their final retention list for WPL 2024, to BCCI by October 13, 2023.
A total of 60 players were retained by teams, including 21 overseas players, Gujrat Giants released the most number of players, i.e., 11 players, while Delhi Capitals Women, released the least number of players, i.e., 3 players.
Check out the complete list of retained players by all five teams:
Delhi Capitals Women
Retained players (Indians): Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shefali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia and Titas Sadhu
Retained players (Overseas): Alice Capsey, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Harris, Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen
Released players (Indians): Aparna Mondal and Jasia Akhter
Released players (Overseas): Tara Norris
Mumbai Indians Women
Retained players (Indians): Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur, Humairaa Kaazi, Jintimani Kalita, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque and Yastika Bhatia
Retained players (Overseas): Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Natalie Sciver, Hayley Matthews and Isabelle Wong
Released players (Indians): Dhara Gujjar, Neelam Bisht and Sonam Yadav
Released players (Overseas): Heather Graham
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women
Retained players (Indians): Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana,
Retained players (Overseas): Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight and Sophie Devine
Released players (Indians): Komal Zanzad, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar
Released players (Overseas): Dané Van Niekerk, Erin Burns and Megan Schutt
Gujrat Giants
Retained players (Indians): Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer
Retained players (Overseas): Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt
Released players (Indians): Ashwani Kumari, Hurley Gala, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sushma Verma
Released players (Overseas): Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth and Sophia Dunkley
