If you followed last year’s mega auction, forget most of it. This is a mini-auction. The teams kept almost everyone, the money left over is small, and the whole thing is about filling gaps rather than building sides. Five franchises walk into the Grand Hyatt Kochi with ₹8.15 crore between them, which is less than what Gujarat Giants alone committed to their retained players.
The Purse: ₹15 Crore, Mostly Spent Already
Every team has a ₹15 crore salary cap, and retention fees come out of it first. Whatever is left is the auction purse. That is why UP Warriorz, who released nine players, have ₹3.75 crore while Mumbai Indians, who kept almost their whole squad and traded for Tara Norris, have ₹90 lakh.
Per slot is the honest number. A team that spends half its purse on one player still has to fill every remaining slot, and the cheapest a player can be bought for is ₹10 lakh.
Squad Size and the Overseas Limit
- A squad can have up to 18 players.
- Up to six overseas players in the squad.
- Up to four overseas players in the playing XI, with a fifth allowed only if she is from an Associate nation.
- That is why Mumbai Indians cannot bid on a single overseas player tonight: Norris made it six.
Retentions: How Teams Got Here
The retention deadline was 28 September. Unlike the 2026 mega auction, there was no five-player cap this time. Teams kept as many as they wanted inside the cap, which is how Gujarat Giants held on to 15 and the league kept 63 players in all, 23 of them overseas. One trade followed: Tara Norris from UP Warriorz to Mumbai Indians on 12 October at her existing ₹10 lakh fee.
What About RTM?
The right-to-match card arrived in the WPL for the 2026 mega auction, where the number a team could use depended on how many players it had retained. None of the official WPL notices for this auction mention RTM cards, and neither do the pre-auction team-by-team reports. So plan for a straight auction: if a team wants one of its released players back, it has to outbid everyone else for her.
That matters for names like Grace Harris (released by RCB after a ₹75 lakh season, now at a ₹30 lakh base) and Asha Sobhana (₹1.10 crore at UP Warriorz in 2026, now ₹30 lakh). Their old teams get no second look at the price.
The Pool
146 players were on the 19 October list: 119 Indian (22 capped, 97 uncapped) and 27 overseas, six of them from Associate nations. Four more were added on auction day, taking the pool to 150.
Base prices run from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh. Sophia Dunkley and Sophie Molineux are the only two at the top, with G Kamalini, Kiran Navgire, Heather Graham and Jess Jonassen at ₹40 lakh.
Track every sale, the purse left and every squad as it changes on the hub.
Open the WPL 2027 Hub →What Each Team Needs
🔵 Delhi Capitals: ₹1.1 crore, 5 spots
Bench strength. The XI picks itself, so the one overseas spot and four Indian spots are about cover for injuries and the spin-friendly venues.
🟠 Gujarat Giants: ₹1.25 crore, 3 spots
Fine-tuning. Fifteen players already, so one overseas pick and two Indian squad players. They can afford to go past ₹1 crore on a single name if it is the right one.
💙 Mumbai Indians: ₹90 lakh, 6 spots
Six Indian players on ₹90 lakh, ₹15 lakh a head. Mostly uncapped buys, unless they go big on G Kamalini and accept ₹10 lakh picks for the rest.
❤️ Royal Challengers Bengaluru: ₹1.15 crore, 5 spots
Depth behind a title-winning XI. Two overseas spots matter most, with Grace Harris back in the pool at a lower base than her 2026 fee.
💜 UP Warriorz: ₹3.75 crore, 8 spots
A rebuild. Three overseas spots and the only purse that can win a bidding war outright. Expect them on every top-tier overseas name, and on a power-hitting Indian batter to replace Kiran Navgire.
Play While the WPL Is Still Two Months Away
The season does not start until 14 January. The WBBL starts on 29 October, and 18 retained WPL players plus a good few names from this auction pool are in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money is left for the WPL 2027 auction?
₹8.15 crore across five teams. UP Warriorz have the most (₹3.75 crore) and Mumbai Indians the least (₹90 lakh).
Is there an RTM card at the WPL 2027 auction?
RTM was used at the 2026 mega auction. No official WPL notice for the 2027 mini-auction mentions it, so teams wanting a released player back have to win the bidding.
How many overseas players can a WPL team have?
Six in the squad and four in the playing XI, or five if one of them is from an Associate nation.
How many players are in the WPL 2027 auction?
150: the 146 on the 19 October list plus four added on auction day. 27 spots are open, 7 for overseas players.
Why can Mumbai Indians not buy an overseas player?
They already have six overseas players after trading for Tara Norris, which is the maximum.