WPL auction will be held in New Delhi, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) probably announcing the same in the near future. Although formal communication has not gone to franchises, reports indicate that teams have been informally apprised of the venue.
According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI has fixed the auction window at November 26 or 27, which cuts down the previous range of November 26–29. Although referred to as a “mega auction,” the process is likely to be wrapped up in one day, considering there are merely five franchises and a limit on the team strength of 18 players. Even if nearly 90 players are put up for auction, the activity should be fast-paced.
Teams are also required to submit their retained players’ list prior to the auction, by November 5. The teams are allowed to retain five players, with respective inclusions from the INR 15 crore salary cap INR 3.5 crore for the first, 2.5 crore for the second, 1.75 crore for the third, 1 crore for the fourth, and 50 lakh for the fifth. If a squad keeps all five players, its purse available will come down by INR 9.25 crore.
The BCCI made it clear that the figures are guiding amounts for determining the salary cap, and the player payments themselves can be variable. But the aggregate retention value will still come into play in deciding the eventual cap deduction.
Teams may also retain a maximum of two uncapped players, who may be worth INR 50 lakh per calculation. A franchise can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players and two overseas players on its retention list.
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Another major aspect of this auction will be the Right to Match (RTM) cards. Each franchise has been given a maximum of five RTM opportunities, but this will vary according to the number of retained players. For each retention, an RTM is lost so a team that retains five won’t have any RTM cards at all, while one with zero can use all five in the auction.
As WPL continues to grow in leaps and bounds, this year’s auction will rake in a lot of attention paving the way for the next chapter of India’s flagship women’s cricket league.
