RCB release Grace Harris, Linsey Smith ahead of WPL 2027 Auction
UP Warriorz have released Deandra Dottin and Sneh Rana along with seven others
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru have released hard-hitting batter Grace Harris ahead of the Women's Premier League 2027 Auction. The Australian scored two half-centuries, both against UP Warriorz, in RCB's 2026 title triumph but is among four players released by the two-time winners. Linsey Smith, D. Hemalatha and Gautami Nayak are the others let go by the holders.
Legendary all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who missed the last season due to personal reasons despite being retained by RCB, is set to play in the upcoming season, with Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk and Georgia Voll being the other overseas retentions for RCB.
Gujarat Giants meanwhile have the maximum retentions, having held on to 15 players while releasing four. Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the highest run-getter in this year's T20 World Cup, is the major exclusion from the Giants' squad.
There aren't any major changes in the Mumbai Indians' squad, although the two-time champions have let go of G. Kamalini, presumably because of the scheduling clash between the WPL and the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup next year with the youngster scheduled to be picked for the latter assignment.
Four-time finalists Delhi Capitals have retained their core among the 13 retentions. But they also let go of a few big-name players like Lizelle Lee and Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana. Meanwhile, Annabel Sutherland, who had withdrawn from the Capitals' squad in 2026, features among the retentions. Alana King, who came in as Sutherland's replacement, is among the six released players from the Capitals team.
UP Warriorz have the maximum releases, having let go of nine players from their team. The major exclusions include Deandra Dottin, Chloe Tryon and Charli Knott among the overseas players while Asha Sobhana, Kiran Navgire and Shweta Sehrawat are among the Indian players released by them. Incidentally, Sehrawat was their only retention ahead of the mega auction last year.
The WPL auction will be held on October 28 in Kochi. The Warriorz have the biggest purse (INR 3.65 Crore) available among all the teams, with a maximum of seven player slots to fill. MI also have seven slots that can be filled, although they have the least purse with INR 1 Crore.
The 2027 edition of the WPL will be played from January 14 to February 7.
PLAYERS RETAINED, RELEASED AND PURSE
Royal Challengers Bengaluru - 13 retained, 4 released
Purse available: INR 1.15 Crore
Total slots available: 5
Overseas slots available: 2
Indian players retained: Arundhati Reddy, Prathyoosha Kumar, Richa Ghosh, Smriti Mandhana, Prema Rawat, Sayali Satghare, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil
Overseas players retained: Lauren Bell, Ellyse Perry, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Voll
Players released: Grace Harris, Linsey Smith, Gautami Naik, D Hemalatha
Mumbai Indians - 11 retained, 6 released
Purse available: INR 1 Crore
Total slots available: 7
Overseas slots available: 1
Indian players retained: Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur, Rahila Firdous, S Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Vaishnavi Sharma
Overseas players retained: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Nicola Carey, Shabnim Ismail
Players released: Kamalini G, Kranthi Reddy, Milly Illingworth, Poonam Khemnar, Saika Ishaque, Triveni Vasistha
Delhi Capitals - 13 retained, 6 released
Purse available: INR 1.1 Crore
Total slots available: 5
Overseas slots available: 1
Indian players retained: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deeya Yadav, Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, N Shree Charani, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandni Sharma
Overseas players retained: Laura Wolvaardt, Annabel Sutherland, Chinelle Henry, Lucy Hamilton, Marizanne Kapp
Players released: Lizelle Lee, Taniyaa Bhatia, Alana King, Pragati Singh, E Srujana, Sneha Rana
Gujarat Giants - 15 retained, 4 released
Purse available: INR 1.25 Crore
Total slots available: 3
Overseas slots available: 1
Indian players retained: Anushka Sharma, Bharti Fulmani, Jintamani Kalita, Kanika Ahuja, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Tanuja Kanwer, Happy Kumari, Kashvee Gautam, Renuka Singh Thakur, Yastika Bhatia
Overseas players retained: Kim Garth, Sophie Devine, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Beth Mooney
Players released: Ayushi Soni, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Titas Sadhu, Shivani Singh
UP Warriorz - 11 retained, 9 released
Purse available: INR 3.65 Crore
Total slots available: 7
Overseas slots available: 2
Indian players retained: Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Harleen Deol, Shipra Giri, Kranti Gaud, Pratika Rawal, Simran Shaikh
Overseas players retained: Meg Lanning, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Litchfield, Tara Norris
Players released: Asha Sobhana, Deandra Dottin, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Amy Jones, Chloe Tryon, Charli Knott, Gongadi Trisha, Suman Meena
