WPL 2027 player auction set for October 28 in Kochi

The Women’s Premier League 2027 player auction will take place on October 28, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Kochi in Kerala. The event is a key milestone in the build-up to the WPL 2027 season, which is scheduled to run from January 14 to February 7, 2027.

The BCCI had set September 28, 2026, as the player retention deadline for all five franchises, meaning teams finalised their retained squads well before the auction date. With retentions now complete, a total of 27 slots are available across the franchises for the October 28 event.

A pool of 146 players has been registered for those 27 available slots. The Indian contingent numbers 119 players, made up of 22 capped and 97 uncapped cricketers, with 20 of the 27 slots earmarked for Indian players. The overseas contingent stands at 27 players, which includes six from Associate Nations, split between 14 capped and 13 uncapped players, and seven slots are open for overseas selections.

Which players carry the highest base prices at the WPL 2027 auction?

Australia captain Sophie Molineux and England batter Sophia Dunkley top the base price list, each entering the pool at ₹50 lakh. Their registrations place them among the most prominent names available to franchises on auction day.

Indian players G. Kamalini and Kiran Navgire, along with overseas cricketers Heather Graham and Jess Jonassen, have each entered the pool with a base price of ₹40 lakh. A further 30 players across the full pool have set their base price at ₹30 lakh, making that bracket the most heavily populated in the entire auction catalogue.

When does the WPL 2027 auction begin and what is the tournament window?

The auction at Grand Hyatt Kochi is scheduled to get under way at 5:30 PM on October 28, 2026. Kochi hosts a WPL player auction for the first time, marking a new addition to the league’s calendar of venues since the competition launched in 2023.

Once franchises complete their purchases, squads will be locked in ahead of the WPL 2027 season opener on January 14, 2027. The tournament window closes on February 7, 2027, giving all five sides approximately ten weeks between the auction and the first match to prepare their campaigns.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter the competition as defending champions, having lifted their second title in 2026.