Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women Squad 2027
Royal Challengers Bengaluru go into WPL 2027 as defending champions and two-time winners. They have kept 13 players, including Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry, and have ₹1.15 crore to fill five spots at the auction. Part of our Women’s Premier League 2027.
RCB Women 2027 key details
RCB women squad 2027 in short: 13 players are retained, Smriti Mandhana is captain, and five spots are left to fill. Two of those spots are for overseas players, which gives RCB more freedom at the auction than any team except UP Warriorz. They have ₹1.15 crore to spend, so they will be shopping for value rather than chasing the biggest names.
RCB are the team every other side is chasing. They won the 2024 title by beating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in Delhi, and then won again in 2026 with the highest successful chase in any WPL or IPL final. Chasing 204 in Vadodara, Mandhana made 87 and Georgia Voll 79, and the pair added 165 runs, the biggest partnership for any wicket in WPL history. RCB had already topped the league table to qualify straight for the final, so the title was no accident.
Because WPL 2027 has a mini auction rather than a mega auction, RCB were free to keep almost everyone. They let go of just four players, which means the group that won in February will mostly be the group that walks out in January. That continuity is their biggest edge. Below you will find the full squad with prices, a breakdown by role, our best playing XI, the auction plan, the captain, coach and owner, RCB’s record in every WPL season, and our honest view of where the team can still be beaten.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women squad 2027: full player list
RCB can carry up to 18 players. These are the 13 retained players with their price for the 2027 season. Auction buys will be added below on 28 October.
| # | Player | Country | Role | Status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smriti MandhanaC | India | Batter | Retained | ₹3.5 Cr |
| 2 | Richa Ghosh | India | Keeper | Retained | ₹2.75 Cr |
| 3 | Ellyse PerryOS | Australia | All-Rounder | Retained | ₹2 Cr |
| 4 | Lauren BellOS | England | Bowler | Retained | ₹90 Lakh |
| 5 | Pooja Vastrakar | India | All-Rounder | Retained | ₹85 Lakh |
| 6 | Arundhati Reddy | India | Bowler | Retained | ₹75 Lakh |
| 7 | Nadine de KlerkOS | South Africa | All-Rounder | Retained | ₹65 Lakh |
| 8 | Radha Yadav | India | Bowler | Retained | ₹65 Lakh |
| 9 | Shreyanka Patil | India | Bowler | Retained | ₹60 Lakh |
| 10 | Georgia VollOS | Australia | Batter | Retained | ₹60 Lakh |
| 11 | Sayali Satghare | India | Bowler | Retained | ₹30 Lakh |
| 12 | Prema Rawat | India | Bowler | Retained | ₹20 Lakh |
| 13 | Kumar Prathyoosha | India | Keeper | Retained | ₹10 Lakh |
| Auction buys 5 slots open (2 overseas), to be added on 28 October | |||||
Released: Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, Gautami Naik, Dayalan Hemalatha
RCB Women schedule 2027: match list, dates and venues
RCB Women will play eight league matches in WPL 2027, two against each of the other four teams: Mumbai Indians Women, Delhi Capitals Women, Gujarat Giants Women and UP Warriorz. The season runs from Thursday, 14 January to Sunday, 7 February 2027. After the league stage, the team that finishes top goes straight to the final, while the teams in second and third place meet in the Eliminator. The fourth and fifth-placed teams are knocked out.
Matches are expected to be split between two host cities. Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium is reported as confirmed, with Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium or a new stadium in Varanasi as the likely second venue. In past seasons, most WPL matches have started at 7:30 PM IST, with a few afternoon games on double-header days.
RCB Women live schedule and results
No upcoming matches scheduled yet.
No matches for this team here.
No results yet.
No matches for this team here.
The schedule above updates automatically. Until the 2027 fixtures are added, the planned match list below shows every RCB Women fixture.
RCB Women WPL 2027 match list
| Match | Date | Fixture | Round | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBC | RCB Women vs MI Women | First meeting | TBC | TBC |
| 2 | TBC | RCB Women vs DC Women | First meeting | TBC | TBC |
| 3 | TBC | RCB Women vs GG Women | First meeting | TBC | TBC |
| 4 | TBC | RCB Women vs UP Warriorz | First meeting | TBC | TBC |
| 5 | TBC | RCB Women vs MI Women | Return match | TBC | TBC |
| 6 | TBC | RCB Women vs DC Women | Return match | TBC | TBC |
| 7 | TBC | RCB Women vs GG Women | Return match | TBC | TBC |
| 8 | TBC | RCB Women vs UP Warriorz | Return match | TBC | TBC |
| Eliminator | Before 7 Feb | Teams placed 2nd and 3rd in the league | |||
| Final | Sun 7 Feb 2027 | League winner vs Eliminator winner | |||
RCB Women next match
The first match of WPL 2027 is on 14 January 2027. RCB Women’s opening fixture, and every match after it, will be listed here once the schedule is out, along with a live score link on match day.
Where to watch and how to get tickets
Ticket prices and booking dates for every venue are on our WPL 2027 tickets page. Last season, tickets went on sale about two weeks before the opening match.
RCB Women squad by role
Batters
The top of the order is RCB’s strongest area. Smriti Mandhana was the leading run-scorer of WPL 2026 with 377 runs and was Player of the Match in the final. Georgia Voll, signed at ₹60 lakh, turned out to be one of the bargains of the last auction and gives RCB a second attacking opener. Behind them, Ellyse Perry can bat anywhere from three to five. She was the top run-scorer of the whole league in 2024 with 347 runs, the season RCB won their first title.
The weakness is the number of specialist batters. Mandhana and Voll are the only two in the list. With Grace Harris, Gautami Naik and Dayalan Hemalatha released, RCB rely on all-rounders and on Richa Ghosh to make up the middle order. One injury to a top-order batter and the order starts to look short.
Wicketkeepers
Richa Ghosh, retained at ₹2.75 crore, is the second most expensive player in the squad and one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in India. She keeps wicket and usually bats in the finishing role. Kumar Prathyoosha is the back-up keeper at ₹10 lakh. RCB do not need another keeper, which frees their auction money for other roles.
All-rounders
Perry, Nadine de Klerk and Pooja Vastrakar give RCB three seam-bowling all-rounders who can each bat in the top seven. De Klerk is a powerful lower-order hitter and a useful death bowler. Vastrakar, when fit, is one of India’s few genuine pace-bowling all-rounders. This group is the reason RCB can bat deep and still have six or seven bowling options.
Bowlers
Lauren Bell, England’s tall new-ball bowler, leads the pace attack. Arundhati Reddy adds swing and control with the new ball, and Prema Rawat and Sayali Satghare are the young Indian back-up seamers. Spin is shared between Shreyanka Patil, who took 13 wickets and the Purple Cap in RCB’s 2024 title season, and the experienced left-arm spinner Radha Yadav. With Linsey Smith gone, there is no overseas spinner in the squad.
RCB Women players to watch in 2027
Smriti Mandhana
The captain is the most important player in the squad. She scored 377 runs in 2026, the most by anyone that season, and her 87 in the final turned a big chase into a title. When she bats through the powerplay, RCB almost always post or chase a winning total.
Georgia Voll
Voll was signed for just ₹60 lakh and became the perfect partner for Mandhana. Her 79 in the final and the record 165-run stand made her one of the stories of the season. In her second WPL year, bowlers will have plans for her, so watch how she adjusts.
Shreyanka Patil
The off-spinner won the Purple Cap in RCB’s 2024 title season with 13 wickets. With no overseas spinner in the squad, she will bowl the key middle overs, and she is also a capable lower-order batter.
RCB Women best playing XI for WPL 2027
This is the XI we expect before the auction. It uses four overseas players, the maximum allowed in a WPL playing XI.
| No. | Player | Role | Job in the XI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smriti Mandhana (C) | Batter | Opener, sets the tempo in the powerplay |
| 2 | Georgia Voll | Batter (OS) | Attacking opener |
| 3 | Ellyse Perry | All-Rounder (OS) | Anchors the middle overs, bowls seam |
| 4 | Richa Ghosh (WK) | Keeper | Finisher who can also move up |
| 5 | Nadine de Klerk | All-Rounder (OS) | Power hitter, death bowler |
| 6 | Pooja Vastrakar | All-Rounder | Hitter and fourth seamer |
| 7 | Radha Yadav | Bowler | Left-arm spin, useful lower-order bat |
| 8 | Shreyanka Patil | Bowler | Off-spin, wicket-taker |
| 9 | Arundhati Reddy | Bowler | New-ball swing |
| 10 | Lauren Bell | Bowler (OS) | Strike seamer |
| 11 | Prema Rawat | Bowler | Young seamer |
Why this XI works: RCB bat all the way down to eight or nine, and they have seven bowling options. That depth is why they could chase 204 in the 2026 final without panicking. The opening pair of Mandhana and Voll scores fast enough to take pressure off everyone else.
What could change: an Indian batter bought at the auction would most likely replace Prema Rawat, with Vastrakar taking over as fourth seamer. If RCB buy an overseas spinner, they would have to leave out one of Voll, de Klerk or Bell, so the more likely use of the two overseas slots is cover for the four players already in this XI.
Who RCB Women kept, and who they let go
RCB retained 13 players and released four: Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, Gautami Naik and Dayalan Hemalatha. That is one of the smallest clear-outs in the league, and it tells you how happy the management is with the title-winning group.
Grace Harris was the most notable release. The Australian all-rounder is a big hitter who can bowl off-spin, but her place in the XI was squeezed once Voll established herself at the top. She is in the auction pool at a base price of ₹30 lakh, so RCB could easily buy her back for less than she cost before.
Linsey Smith, the England left-arm spinner, has opted out of the WPL for the next season along with several other England players, so her release was expected. Gautami Naik and Dayalan Hemalatha were Indian batting back-ups who did not play much. Naik is in the auction at ₹10 lakh.
What RCB kept matters even more. Mandhana and Richa together cost ₹6.25 crore, and Perry another ₹2 crore. Keeping all three locked up most of the purse, which is why only ₹1.15 crore is left. RCB made a clear choice: pay to keep the stars, then fill gaps cheaply.
RCB Women auction plan: ₹1.15 cr for 5 slots
RCB have ₹1.15 crore for five players, an average of about ₹23 lakh per slot. Only Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have less to spend per open spot. That rules RCB out of a bidding war for Sophie Molineux or Sophia Dunkley at ₹50 lakh base, unless they are willing to spend almost half their money on one player.
The smarter plan is to split the money. Two overseas spots give RCB a chance to buy an all-rounder who can bat in the middle order and a spinner as cover, while the three Indian spots go on a specialist batter and two young players at ₹10 to ₹30 lakh. Expect RCB to bid for players they already know well: Grace Harris and Gautami Naik are both in the pool.
Under the auction rules, every team must finish with at least 15 players and no more than 18, with a maximum of six overseas players in the squad. RCB need to buy at least two players to reach 15, so they can afford to be patient and pounce on value late in the night.
Players RCB Women could target on 28 October
| Player | Country | Role | Base price | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Harris | Australia | All-Rounder | ₹30 L | Buy back a known power hitter for less |
| Jess Jonassen | Australia | All-Rounder | ₹40 L | Experienced left-arm spin, replaces Linsey Smith |
| Nonkululeko Mlaba | South Africa | Bowler | ₹30 L | Overseas spin option |
| Raghvi Bist | India | Batter | ₹30 L | Capped Indian middle-order batter |
| Gautami Naik | India | Batter | ₹10 L | Cheap batting back-up who knows the set-up |
Base prices are from the official auction list of 146 players. The auction starts at 5:30 PM IST on Wednesday, 28 October at the Grand Hyatt Kochi.
RCB Women captain, coach and owner
| Role | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | Smriti Mandhana | Captain since the first season in 2023 |
| Head coach | Malolan Rangarajan | Appointed before the 2026 auction; led RCB to the 2026 title |
| Owner | Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd | Part of United Spirits (Diageo group); bought the team for ₹901 crore in 2023 |
| Home city | Bengaluru | Home ground: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. WPL 2027 venues are not confirmed yet |
Smriti Mandhana has captained RCB in every WPL season. After a hard first year in 2023, when RCB finished fourth, she led them to the title in 2024 and again in 2026. Her captaincy is calm and her batting sets the tone: when Mandhana scores, RCB usually win.
Malolan Rangarajan took over as head coach before the 2026 mega auction and built the squad that won the title. He is a former Tamil Nadu cricketer who had worked with RCB before. Luke Williams, who coached RCB to their first title in 2024, has moved to Mumbai Indians as head coach for 2027, so one of RCB’s main rivals now has the man who knows their system best.
RCB are owned by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, the same company that owns the men’s IPL team. It paid ₹901 crore for the women’s franchise in January 2023, the third-highest bid of the five teams.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women in the WPL: season by season
| Season | Finish | Captain | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4th (league stage) | Smriti Mandhana | Lost their first five games and missed the playoffs |
| 2024 | Champions | Smriti Mandhana | Beat MI in the Eliminator, then DC by 8 wickets in the final in Delhi |
| 2025 | 4th (league stage) | Smriti Mandhana | Missed the playoffs as defending champions |
| 2026 | Champions | Smriti Mandhana | Topped the table, then chased 204 to beat DC by 6 wickets in Vadodara |
RCB’s WPL story swings between extremes. In 2023 they had a squad full of stars but lost their first five matches and finished fourth. In 2024 they sneaked into third place, beat Mumbai Indians by five runs in the Eliminator, and then bowled Delhi Capitals out for 113 in the final before chasing it down with eight wickets in hand. It was the first major title for any RCB team, men’s or women’s.
2025 was a step back: they finished fourth again and missed the playoffs. In 2026 they put it all together, winning six of their eight league games to top the table and go straight to the final. There, Delhi made 203 for 4, and RCB chased it with two balls to spare. That made RCB the second team, after Mumbai Indians, to win the WPL twice.
The pattern points to one thing: when RCB’s top order fires, they win titles, and when it does not, the rest of the batting has not always been strong enough. That is the gap they will try to fix at the auction.
RCB Women 2027 strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- The best opening pair in the league: Mandhana and Voll added a record 165 in the 2026 final.
- Batting depth to eight or nine, thanks to Perry, de Klerk and Vastrakar.
- Seven bowling options, with a mix of new-ball swing, pace and two quality spinners.
- Continuity: only four players released from a title-winning squad.
- Two overseas slots open, more flexibility than DC, GG or MI.
Weaknesses
- Only two specialist batters, so an injury to Mandhana or Voll exposes the middle order.
- No overseas spinner since Linsey Smith left.
- Little money: about ₹23 lakh per open slot.
- Reliance on Perry, now in the later part of her career, in both batting and bowling.
- Pooja Vastrakar’s fitness record makes the fourth-seamer role uncertain.
Our view: RCB start WPL 2027 as favourites, and they should. No other team has the same mix of a world-class opening pair, a keeper who can finish games and three seam-bowling all-rounders. Their weak spot is the thin middle order, and the cheapest fix in the pool is Grace Harris at ₹30 lakh. If RCB get her back and add one Indian batter, they will have a squad with no obvious hole.
The bigger question is the coaching change at Mumbai Indians. Luke Williams knows exactly how RCB’s best players think, and MI’s overseas core is just as strong. We expect the 2027 title race to come down to RCB and MI, with RCB slightly ahead because of their batting depth.
Related WPL posts
Squads, auction, rules, history and tickets.
- Women’s Premier League 2027: schedule, squads & teams →
- WPL 2027 all teams final squad →
- WPL 2027 auction: purse, slots & live updates →
- WPL 2027 auction player list (all 146) →
- WPL auction rules explained →
- WPL auction live streaming & start times →
- WPL winners list 2023–2026 →
- WPL 2027 tickets: price & booking →
- All Women’s Premier League posts →
RCB Women squad FAQs
Who is the captain of RCB in WPL 2027?
Smriti Mandhana is the RCB captain. She has led the team in every WPL season and won the title in 2024 and 2026.
How many players have RCB retained for WPL 2027?
RCB retained 13 players, including four overseas players: Ellyse Perry, Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk and Georgia Voll.
Who are RCB’s released players for WPL 2027?
Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, Gautami Naik and Dayalan Hemalatha were released.
How much purse do RCB have left for the WPL 2027 auction?
RCB have ₹1.15 crore left from the ₹15 crore purse, for five open slots, two of them overseas.
Who is the most expensive player in the RCB squad?
Smriti Mandhana, retained at ₹3.5 crore. Richa Ghosh is next at ₹2.75 crore.
How many times have RCB won the WPL?
Twice, in 2024 and 2026. They are level with Mumbai Indians for the most titles.
Who is the RCB women’s head coach?
Malolan Rangarajan was head coach for the 2026 title win. Luke Williams, who coached RCB to the 2024 title, has joined Mumbai Indians for 2027.
When is the WPL 2027 auction?
Wednesday, 28 October 2026 at 5:30 PM IST at the Grand Hyatt in Kochi. WPL 2027 runs from 14 January to 7 February 2027.
When is RCB Women’s first match in WPL 2027?
The WPL 2027 schedule has not been released yet. The season starts on 14 January 2027, and RCB Women’s first match will be added to this page as soon as the fixtures are announced.
How many matches will RCB Women play in WPL 2027?
RCB Women will play eight league matches, two against each of the other four teams. The top team goes straight to the final on 7 February 2027, and the second and third-placed teams play the Eliminator.
Last updated: 26 October 2026. This squad will be updated with auction buys and prices on 28 October.
