The WPL 2027 auction will be held on 28 October 2026 at the Grand Hyatt Kochi, starting at 5:30 PM IST. A total of 146 players (119 Indian, 27 overseas) are in the pool for just 27 slots, and UP Warriorz go in with the biggest purse of ₹3.75 crore.
Below you will find the time, venue, every team’s purse and open slots, the base-price brackets, and our own purse-per-slot numbers that show which franchises can actually win a bidding war. On auction night, follow every bid in our live updates section just below.
WPL 2027 auction live updates
Status: UPCOMING. Live coverage starts at 5:30 PM IST on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Every sale, unsold player and purse change will appear here, with the newest update at the top.
Sold so far: 0 of 27 slots (0 of 7 overseas). Total spent: ₹0 of ₹8.15 crore.
Live feed
20 Oct, 4:00 PM IST: The final pool is confirmed at 146 players, 119 Indian and 27 overseas, for 27 slots. UP Warriorz go in with the biggest purse, ₹3.75 crore.
Live purse tracker
| Team | Purse left | Slots left | Overseas slots left | Bought |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UP Warriorz | ₹3.75 crore | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Gujarat Giants | ₹1.25 crore | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | ₹1.15 crore | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Delhi Capitals | ₹1.10 crore | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Mumbai Indians | ₹90 lakh | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Players sold
| # | Player | Country | Role | Team | Base price | Sold price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Sales will appear here from 5:30 PM IST on 28 October |
Unsold players
| Player | Country | Base price |
|---|---|---|
| Unsold players will be listed here as the auction goes on |
Full squads for all five teams will go into our WPL 2027 season guide once the auction ends.
WPL 2027 auction quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | TATA WPL 2027 Player Auction (mini-auction) |
| Date | Wednesday, 28 October 2026 |
| Start time | 5:30 PM IST |
| Venue | Grand Hyatt Kochi, Kerala |
| Players in pool | 146 (119 Indian, 27 overseas) |
| Slots available | 27 (20 Indian, 7 overseas) |
| Highest base price | ₹50 lakh: Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Molineux |
| Lowest base price | ₹10 lakh (106 players) |
| Biggest purse | UP Warriorz, ₹3.75 crore for 8 slots |
| Smallest purse | Mumbai Indians, ₹90 lakh for 6 slots |
| Players already retained | 63 (23 overseas) |
| TV / streaming | Not officially announced |
WPL 2027 auction date and time in IST
The auction starts at 5:30 PM IST on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. It is a single-evening event, which suits a mini-auction with only 27 places to fill.
The BCCI has not published a finish time. With more than five players in the pool for every slot, most names will go unsold, and the decisive bids are likely to come in the first hour, when the marquee players are called.
This is also the earliest WPL auction in the calendar so far. Previous auctions were held in February 2023, December 2023, December 2024 and November 2025. Holding it in October gives franchises two and a half months before the season starts on 14 January 2027.
That gap matters. Overseas buys need clearances from their boards, and every team will want its full squad together for camps before a compressed 25-day tournament.
Where to watch the WPL 2027 auction
The official broadcaster and streaming platform for the auction have not been confirmed by the BCCI as of 20 October. Some reports say the auction will be shown on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar, but we will treat that as unconfirmed until the league says so.
Your safest bet on the day is to follow the WPL’s official website and social media accounts, which have carried auction updates in past seasons. We will update this section, and the time stamp at the top, as soon as the telecast is announced.
WPL 2027 auction venue: why Kochi
The Grand Hyatt Kochi hosts the auction, the first time the WPL has taken its player sale to Kerala. Earlier auctions were held in Mumbai (twice), Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Kochi is not new to cricket auctions, though. The city hosted the IPL 2023 player auction in December 2022, so the BCCI has run this kind of event there before.
It is also the first time the auction has gone to a city with no WPL franchise and no WPL matches. Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi are all home cities for teams in the league.
Moving the auction around the country is part of a wider pattern. The WPL itself has changed host cities almost every season, from an all-Mumbai first edition to four cities in 2025. For the league, the choice puts the women’s game in front of a new regional audience at a time when interest is high after India’s 2025 World Cup win.
The auction venue has no link to where matches will be played. The WPL 2027 venues have not been officially announced; for the latest on Brabourne, Kotambi and Varanasi, see our WPL 2027 full guide to dates, teams, venues and squads.
WPL 2027 purse and slots: team-wise table
These are the figures after the 12 October trade that sent Tara Norris from UP Warriorz to Mumbai Indians for her ₹10 lakh fee. Several reports still carry the retention-day numbers, so check which version you are reading.
| Team | Purse left | Total slots | Indian slots | Overseas slots | Players retained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UP Warriorz | ₹3.75 crore | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| Gujarat Giants | ₹1.25 crore | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | ₹1.15 crore | 5 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Delhi Capitals | ₹1.10 crore | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| Mumbai Indians | ₹90 lakh | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Total | ₹8.15 crore | 27 | 20 | 7 | 63 |
Before the trade, UPW had ₹3.65 crore and 7 slots (2 overseas), while MI had ₹1 crore and 7 slots (1 overseas).
The numbers come from a fixed salary cap. Teams spent ₹66.85 crore on their 63 retained players and have ₹8.15 crore left. Together that is ₹75 crore, or ₹15 crore for each of the five franchises.
The slot counts follow from a squad limit of 18 players with no more than six overseas. Gujarat, with 15 players kept, have only three places left. UP Warriorz, with 10, have eight. Mumbai already have six overseas players, which is why their overseas column reads zero.
How the WPL mini-auction works
A mini-auction tops up existing squads; a mega auction rebuilds them. The last mega auction was held before WPL 2026, when 277 players were in the pool for 73 places. This time teams could keep as many players as they wanted, so most kept their cores.
The basic process is simple. Each player is presented at her registered base price. Franchises raise their paddles to bid, and the player goes to the highest bidder when no one goes higher. If no team bids at the base price, she goes unsold.
Three limits shape every decision on the night. A team cannot bid more than the money it has left in its purse. Its squad cannot go beyond 18 players. And it cannot have more than six overseas players in total, which is why Mumbai are shut out of the overseas market this year.
The Right to Match (RTM) card made its WPL debut at the 2026 mega auction, when UP Warriorz used it to bring back Deepti Sharma. Reports say RTM is not available in mini-auctions, and the BCCI has not announced it for Kochi.
The full 2027 auction rulebook, including bid increments and any accelerated round for unsold players, has not been published. If those details are confirmed before 28 October, we will add them here.
One practical point for fans following live: a “sold” price is the player’s fee for the season, not a multi-year total. It comes straight out of the purse shown in the table above.
WPL 2027 auction player pool: base price brackets
The 146 players are spread across five base-price brackets. The higher the bracket, the more a player believes she is worth, but a high base price can also scare off cash-strapped teams.
| Base price | Players | Who is in it |
|---|---|---|
| ₹50 lakh | 2 | Sophia Dunkley (England), Sophie Molineux (Australia) |
| ₹40 lakh | 4 | G Kamalini, Kiran Navgire (India); Heather Graham, Jess Jonassen (Australia) |
| ₹30 lakh | 30 | 20 capped Indians and 10 overseas players, including Sneh Rana, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris and Chloe Tryon |
| ₹20 lakh | 4 | Uncapped Indians |
| ₹10 lakh | 106 | Mostly uncapped players |
The pool has 22 capped and 97 uncapped Indians, plus 14 capped and 13 uncapped overseas players. Six of the overseas names are from Associate nations, including Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce and Kirstie Gordon and the UAE’s Esha Oza.
Competition is far tougher for some groups than others. There are about six Indian players for every Indian slot and nearly four overseas players for each overseas slot, and only seven overseas slots exist in the whole auction.
Several names are back in the pool after being released. Kamalini, bought by Mumbai for ₹1.6 crore at the 2025 auction, now sits at a ₹40 lakh base. Grace Harris, who opened for RCB in the 2026 final, is at ₹30 lakh.
The complete list of all 146 players with their base prices, roles and countries is in our WPL 2027 auction player list.
WPL 2027 auction: what each team needs
UP Warriorz: 8 slots, ₹3.75 crore
UPW released nine players, including Deandra Dottin, Chloe Tryon and Kiran Navgire, and then traded Tara Norris. They keep Meg Lanning, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Litchfield and Deepti Sharma, but need five Indians and three overseas players. Expect them to chase at least one of the ₹50 lakh names.
Gujarat Giants: 3 slots, ₹1.25 crore
GG kept 15 players, led by 2026 Player of the Series Sophie Devine, plus Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney. Their single overseas slot and healthy purse let them make one serious bid. The two Indian slots are likely to be depth signings.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 5 slots, ₹1.15 crore
The champions released Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, D Hemalatha and Gautami Naik. With two overseas places, they could replace Harris at the top and add a seam option, but the purse forces careful pricing for the three Indian spots.
Delhi Capitals: 5 slots, ₹1.10 crore
DC let go of Lizelle Lee, Sneh Rana, Alana King and Taniyaa Bhatia, among others. Losing Lee leaves a gap at the top, and the release of Bhatia and Rana means they may want a backup keeper and an experienced Indian bowler. They have four Indian slots and one overseas.
Mumbai Indians: 6 slots, ₹90 lakh
MI’s overseas quota is full, so all six buys must be Indian. They released Saika Ishaque, G Kamalini and four others. With the thinnest wallet, they will hunt value in the ₹10 lakh bracket and may only afford one capped player at ₹30 lakh, as our calculation below shows.
WPL auction history: every auction from 2023 to 2026
Kochi will be the fifth WPL auction and the third mini-auction. Here is how the five compare on timing, location and the top price paid.
| Auction | Date | City | Type | Most expensive buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPL 2023 | 13 Feb 2023 | Mumbai | Inaugural | Smriti Mandhana, RCB, ₹3.4 crore |
| WPL 2024 | 9 Dec 2023 | Mumbai | Mini | Annabel Sutherland (DC) and Kashvee Gautam (GG), ₹2 crore each |
| WPL 2025 | 15 Dec 2024 | Bengaluru | Mini | Simran Shaikh, GG, ₹1.9 crore |
| WPL 2026 | 27 Nov 2025 | New Delhi | Mega | Deepti Sharma, UPW (RTM), ₹3.2 crore |
| WPL 2027 | 28 Oct 2026 | Kochi | Mini | To be decided |
The first auction set the template. Each team had ₹12 crore to build a full squad, and 87 players were sold for ₹59.50 crore in total. Mandhana’s ₹3.4 crore is still the highest price paid at any WPL auction.
The two earlier mini-auctions topped out at ₹2 crore and ₹1.9 crore. The 2025 auction had 120 players for 19 slots; Kochi has 146 for 27, so this is the biggest mini-auction yet.
At the 2026 mega auction, 67 of the 73 places were filled, leaving six empty. Amelia Kerr was released by Mumbai and bought straight back for ₹3 crore, which tells you how differently teams value players in a full rebuild.
Lessons from past WPL auctions
Big auction prices have not guaranteed big seasons. RCB and MI have shared all four titles, while Delhi have reached every final without winning one. The full record is in our WPL winners list from 2023 to 2027.
Look at the top buys from the last two mini-auctions and a pattern appears. Kashvee Gautam (₹2 crore, 2024) and Simran Shaikh (₹1.9 crore, 2025) were young Indian players bought on potential. In 2025, Dottin (₹1.7 crore) and Kamalini (₹1.6 crore) followed close behind. Two years on, Simran Shaikh is on UP Warriorz’s retained list rather than Gujarat’s, and Dottin and Kamalini have both been released.
The players who have decided titles were mostly signed in the first auction or kept through retentions. RCB’s 2026 final was won by Mandhana, bought in 2023, and Georgia Voll. MI’s two titles leaned on Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Harmanpreet Kaur, all part of the original core.
That suggests a sensible approach for a mini-auction: fill holes with role players, and avoid overpaying for one name when the purse has to cover several places. The team that can afford to break that rule this year is UP Warriorz, and they also have the most holes.
What the auction means for WPL 2027
The 27 players bought in Kochi will join a season that runs from 14 January to 7 February 2027, with 22 matches. That is a compressed 25-day window, so depth will matter more than in earlier seasons.
The format leaves little room for error. The table-topper goes straight to the final, while the second and third teams meet in a one-off Eliminator. Teams that use the auction to cover injuries and back-to-back games will have an edge.
Overseas availability is another factor. The ICC Women’s Champions Trophy starts on 14 February at Brabourne and Kotambi, a week after the WPL final. Overseas players bought on Wednesday will be heading straight from one tournament to the next.
For fans, the auction is the first real look at how the season might shape up. RCB start as defending champions after chasing 204 in the 2026 final, and Delhi start with four lost finals behind them. A smart buy in Kochi could be the difference for either side, or finally lift Gujarat or UP into a first final.
Venues, fixtures, the broadcaster and ticket details for the season are still to be confirmed. We are tracking them in our WPL 2027 season guide, which will also carry full squads soon after the auction ends.
iSportsLeague take: purse per open slot
Everyone publishes the purse. Nobody divides it by the number of places a team has to fill, and that is the number that decides who can win a bidding war.
Team Purse Slots Purse per slot Spare cash after ₹10 lakh minimum per slot Spare per slot UP Warriorz ₹3.75 cr 8 ₹47 lakh ₹2.95 cr ₹37 lakh Gujarat Giants ₹1.25 cr 3 ₹42 lakh ₹95 lakh ₹32 lakh Royal Challengers Bengaluru ₹1.15 cr 5 ₹23 lakh ₹65 lakh ₹13 lakh Delhi Capitals ₹1.10 cr 5 ₹22 lakh ₹60 lakh ₹12 lakh Mumbai Indians ₹90 lakh 6 ₹15 lakh ₹30 lakh ₹5 lakh Figures rounded to the nearest lakh. Post-trade purses. Before the Norris trade, UPW’s figure was ₹52 lakh a slot (₹3.65 crore for 7).
Two teams can bid; three must bargain. UPW and GG average more than ₹40 lakh a slot. RCB, DC and MI average ₹23 lakh or less, which is below the ₹30 lakh base of 30 players in the pool.
How many ₹30 lakh players can each team afford? If a team fills every slot and buys the rest at ₹10 lakh, the maths gives a clear limit. UP Warriorz could take all eight and Gujarat all three. RCB and Delhi can manage three of their five. Mumbai can manage only one of their six.
That one line explains Mumbai’s night. Even buying at base price, the two-time champions can sign only one capped player from the ₹30 lakh bracket and still fill all six slots.
What it means for Dunkley and Molineux. Mumbai cannot bid at all, with no overseas slot. RCB and DC can afford one of them at base, but every ₹5 lakh above that eats into money needed for four other places. Only UPW, with ₹2.95 crore of spare cash, can keep raising without hurting the rest of their list.
Our predictions. We expect UP Warriorz to make the most expensive buy of the night, and for it to be an overseas player, because they have three overseas slots and nearly three times the spare cash of the next team. No other side should pay more than ₹1.05 crore for one player, since that is Gujarat’s ceiling if they fill all three slots. Mumbai will spend almost entirely in the ₹10 to ₹20 lakh range and could leave Kochi with the smallest outlay of all five teams. And the top price should stay below Mandhana’s ₹3.4 crore from 2023, because even UPW’s maximum single bid, if they fill all eight slots, is ₹3.05 crore.
We will check every prediction against the final sold list on 28 October.
WPL 2027 auction FAQs
When is the WPL 2027 auction?
The WPL 2027 auction is on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, starting at 5:30 PM IST. It is a mini-auction to fill the remaining places in all five squads.
Where will the WPL 2027 auction be held?
It will be held at the Grand Hyatt in Kochi, Kerala. It is the first WPL auction in Kerala, after earlier auctions in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi.
How many players are in the WPL 2027 auction?
A total of 146 players are in the pool: 119 Indian and 27 overseas. They are competing for 27 slots, of which 20 are for Indian players and 7 for overseas players.
Which team has the highest purse in the WPL 2027 auction?
UP Warriorz have the highest purse at ₹3.75 crore, with eight slots to fill after the Tara Norris trade. Mumbai Indians have the lowest at ₹90 lakh for six slots.
What is the highest base price in the WPL 2027 auction?
The highest base price is ₹50 lakh. Only two players registered at that level: England’s Sophia Dunkley and Australia’s Sophie Molineux.
What is the salary cap for each WPL team?
Each franchise works within a ₹15 crore cap. Teams spent ₹66.85 crore on retentions and have ₹8.15 crore left, which adds up to ₹75 crore across five teams.
Who was the most expensive player in WPL auction history?
Smriti Mandhana is the most expensive buy at any WPL auction, signed by RCB for ₹3.4 crore in 2023. Deepti Sharma’s ₹3.2 crore via RTM at the 2026 mega auction is next.
Can I watch the WPL 2027 auction live?
The official broadcaster and streaming platform for the auction have not been confirmed yet. Follow the WPL’s official website and social channels on the day, and check back here for confirmed details.
Last updated: 20 October 2026
