Courtesy: WPL
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 mini auction, a tournament involving five teams, is set to be held on December 15 in Bengaluru. It is understood that each of the five teams in the WPL will receive a budget of INR 15 Crore, increased from INR 13.5 Crore from last year, to build their squads for the 2025 season, which is expected to happen in the month of February and March next year.
As per the report from ESPNcricinfo, some of the biggest players available for the five teams in the auction will be Heather Knight, Sneh Rana, Poonam Yadav, Lea Tahuhu, and Deandra Dottin, among others. Delhi Capitals, the finalists from 2023 and 2024 seasons of the WPL, have just INR 2.5 Crore in hand to spend in the auction on four players, while Gujarat Giants have INR 4.4 Crore to sign four players in their squad after finishing last two seasons at the bottom.
Four of the five WPL teams need to pick four players, while UP Warriorz need only three
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, led by Smriti Mandhana, who are the defending champions, have a purse of INR 3.25 Crore to pick four players in the auction, while UP Warriorz have INR 3.90 Crore to pick three players and Mumbai Indians have INR 2.65 Crore purse to select four players. Notably, just a few weeks ago, during the pre-season trade window, Danni Wyatt-Hodge became the only player to get traded to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on an all-cash deal from UP Warriorz.
According to the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the 2025-29 cycle, the WPL is expected to have a new window in January and February months from the year 2026 with the five teams being keen on playing home-and-away matches, while the BCCI is looking to continue with the model of hosting matches in a couple of venues. Moreover, for the 2025 season, the WPL will be hosted over a three-week window in the months of February and March.
