Grace Harris, Linsey Smith released by RCB ahead of WPL 2027 Auction

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions, have let go of 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. D. Linsey Smith Gautami Nayak and Hemalatha are the other people let go by the holders.

Ellyse Perry, a legendary all-rounder who was retained by RCB but missed the previous season for personal reasons, is expected to play in the upcoming campaign. Other overseas retentions for RCB include Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk, and Georgia Voll.

In contrast, Gujarat Giants have retained the most players, releasing four while keeping 15 players. The Giants' main exclusion is Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who had the most runs at the T20 World Cup this year.

Despite the two-time champions' decision to let go of G, the Mumbai Indians' roster has not undergone any significant changes. 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.

Among the 13 retentions, the Delhi Capitals, four-time finalists, have retained their core. However, they also let go of some well-known players like Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana and Lizelle Lee. In the meantime, the Capitals have retained Annabel Sutherland, who had left the team in 2026. 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. Deandra Dottin, Chloe Tryon, and Charli Knott are among the international players who have been left out, while Asha Sobhana, Kiran Navgire, and Shweta Sehrawat are among the Indian players who have been released by them. Sehrawat, incidentally, was their sole retention prior to the mega auction last year.

The WPL auction will take place in Kochi on October 28. With a maximum of seven player slots available, the Warriorz have the largest purse of any team (INR 3.65 crore). Despite having the lowest prize of INR 1 billion, MI also has seven open slots.

The WPL's 2027 season will run from January 14 to February 7.

PLAYERS RETAINED, RELEASED AND PURSE
Royal Challengers Bengaluru - 12 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 Charani, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandini 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, 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