If RCB decides to retain all 5 players, it would cost them at least INR 9.25 crores, leaving them with only a purse of INR 5.75 crores for the WPL 2026 mega auction.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Women have a tough task ahead. The 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) champions can retain a maximum of 5 players from their all-star squad ahead of the 2026 WPL mega-auction.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set November 5 as the deadline for the WPL franchise to nominate its retainers. Of course, it is not mandatory to retain even a single player since the introduction of the Right to Match (RTM) card.
However, retaining all 5 players would cost a franchise at least INR 9.25 crores, which is over 60% of the total purse (15). A maximum of 3 capped Indian players, 2 foreign players and 2 uncapped Indian players can be selected.
RCB Women’s Predicted Retention List for WPL Mega Auction 2026
It can be assumed that RCB Women will retain their captain, Smriti Mandhana. Ellyse Perry will be the second retention. The Australian legend has the most runs and the 4th most wickets in the franchise. The third will be Richa Ghosh, who is the 3rd highest scorer for them, and there is no wicketkeeper with the same hitting ability as her.
Retention 1 (INR 3.50 crores)Smriti Mandhana (c)
Retention 2 (INR 2.50 crores): Ellyse Perry✈️
Retention 1 (INR 1.75 crore): Richa Ghosh
Retention 4 (INR 1.00 crore): Renuka Singh Thakur
Retention 5 (INR 50.00 lakh): Prema Rawat (uncapped)
RTM: 0
Left handbag: 5.75 million INR
The fourth retention will be the subject of discussion. RCB Women have the options of Shreyanka Patil, Asha Shobhana and Renuka Singh. All of them are among the top 5 wicket-takers for them. But they can only choose one.
Both Shreyanka and Shobhana missed the WPL 2025 season due to injuries. For the first, injuries have always been part of her career. Therefore, Renuka is the safest bet.
When it comes to the uncapped player, RCB Women don’t have many options. The most promising player they have, who was also in the reserves for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, is Prema Rawat. The 23-year-old only played 3 matches for them last year and wasn’t very effective, but showed a lot of promise.
RCB Women’s Expected Release List for WPL 2026 Mega Auction
Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbineni Meghana, Georgia Wareham✈️, Shreyanka Patil (replaced by Sneh Rana), Asha Shobhana (replaced by Nuzrat Parween), Sophie Devine✈️ (replaced by Heather Graham), Sophie Molineux✈️ (replaced by Charlie Dean), Ekta Bhist, Kate Cross✈️ (replaced by Kim Garth), Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt ✈️, VJ Joshitha, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar
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