Women’s Premier League Squads 2024 - Who is playing in the WPL?

The defending champions, Mumbai Indians, take on the 2023 runners-up Delhi Capitals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in the season opener. 

Just like the inaugural edition of the WPL, this edition will comprise five teams. Apart from Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, the tournament will feature UP Warriorz, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants.

Betting sites have installed Mumbai Indians has the favourites to retain the title ahead of the Delhi Capitals with last year's top two expected to go close again. 

There was no shortage of surprises at the WPL 2024 auction, during which 104 Indian and 61 foreign players were available to bid, but only 30 were picked. Astoundingly, some promising players like Deandra Dottin and Kim Garth were unsold. 

Meanwhile, unexpected bids were tabled for the uncapped duo of Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh, with the former becoming the most expensive uncapped player in WPL’s short history. 

Gujarat Giants splurged a whopping INR 2 crore for Gautam, the joint-highest bid of the WPL 2024 auction. Delhi Capitals spent the same amount to add Australia’s Annabel Sutherland to their strong squad.

The UP Warriorz tabled a bid of INR 1.3 crore for Dinesh, making her the second-most expensive acquisition of the season. The 22-year-old was just ahead of Shabnim Ismail’s valuation of INR 1.2 crore – the amount Mumbai Indians paid to secure the services of the South African seamer. 

The defending champions acquired five new players and are favorites with 1xBet to win the title this season.

Mumbai Indians splashed INR 1.65 crore at the 2024 WPL Auction and reeled in five new players. Ismail is the only new foreign recruit, as the other names include Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Kalakrishnan, and Sajeevan Sajana. Mumbai Indians spent INR 10 lakhs on the former three and acquired Sajana for INR 15 lakhs.

More importantly, the defending champions have retained all their top players from last season. Natalie Sciver-Brunt scored 332 runs in ten matches in the inaugural edition of the WPL last year. She averaged over 65 runs per match and was pivotal for the Indians. She is expected to replicate that consistent performance this year as well.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Hayley Matthews also made significant contributions with their bats. The former had an average of about 40 runs per match and posted a total run tally of 281 in ten games. Meanwhile, the all-rounder Matthews was just ten runs behind Kaur, averaging over 30 runs per match.

The Barbadian was prolific with the ball, too, as she picked up an aggregate of 16 wickets in the 2023 WPL to take the Purple Cap. Matthews had three other bowlers to share the burden with. Amelia Kerr, Isabelle Wong, and Saika Ishaque picked up 15 wickets each to take the aggregate wickets tally of the four bowlers to over 61 in just ten matches.

Squad: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Humaira Kazi, Issy Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail*, S Sajana, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, SB Keerthana

Delhi Capitals took the quality over quantity approach at the 2024 WPL Auction as they splashed more cash than Mumbai Indians but introduced only three new players into their squad. The Capitals spent INR 2 crore on Annabel Sutherland and reeled in Aparna Mondal and Ashwani Kumari for INR 10 lakhs each.

Meg Lanning had the highest aggregate run tally in the last edition. The Australian right-hand batter accumulated 345 runs in nine matches with an average of almost 50 to take the Orange Cap. She also struck the most boundaries with 50 fours and six sixes. The Capitals have retained Lanning, expecting her to work her magic with the bat again this year.

Shafali Verma was Delhi Capitals’ second-highest run-scorer. Her total of 252 runs across nine matches helped the Capitals reach the final last year. Hitting 45 boundaries and scoring two half-centuries, Verma finished the 2023 WPL campaign with a tournament-high strike rate of 185.29.

Meanwhile, the team’s expectations will be sky-high when it comes to Sutherland, who played only four matches in the last edition, scoring 28 runs and picking up three wickets for Gujarat Giants last year. The Capitals paid almost three times as much as the Giants’ bid for the all-rounder in 2023.

Squad: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, Aparna Mondal (wk), Ashwani Kumari

Gujarat Titans were on a spending spree at the auction as they splashed INR 4.5 crore to rope in ten new players, expecting to be strong title contenders this year. The biggest acquisition was Kashvee Gautam’s, which required a winning bid of INR 2 crore. The Giants spent a crore to acquire the services of Phoebe Litchfield.

The promising 20-year-old Australian batter has played 11 WT20i matches, scored 189 runs with a batting average of 37.8, and has a top score of 52 runs. The left-hander has played for three domestic cricket teams in Australia and will make her WPL debut with the Gujarat Giants this year.

Apart from Gautam and Litchfield, the Giants spent INR 30 lakhs each on Lauren Cheatle, Meghna Singh, and Veda Krishnamurthy. Priya Mishra was acquired for INR 20 lakhs, while the quartet of Kathryn Bryce, Mannat Kashyap, Tarannum Pathan, and Trisha Poojitha cost the Giants a total of INR 40 lakhs, with each player valued at INR 10 lakhs.

The Giants have retained Ashleigh Gardner, but surprisingly, they have decided to let go of Kim Garth. Gardner picked up ten wickets for Gujarat Giants in the inaugural WPL season, while Garth was the team’s leading wicket-taker with 11 dismissals under her belt. Her exclusion is one of the biggest eyebrow-raisers this year. 

Squad: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam MD, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Phoebe Litchfield, Meghna Singh, Trisha Poojitha, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Kathryn Bryce, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan, Lea Tahuhu

UP Warriorz lost to eventual champions Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2023 play-off encounter. The Indians won by 72 runs, ending the Warriorz season before the grand finale. As a result, the team has added five new faces to the squad for the new season, hoping to take a couple more steps in the right direction and go all the way.

The Warriorz spent INR 2.1 crore on the five new acquisitions. More than half of the total amount was spent on the winning bid for Vrinda Dinesh. The team has seen huge potential in the 22-year-old, who led Karnataka’s Women’s U23 T20 team before her acquisition. The leg-spinner will have to prove her worth in her debut WPL season.

Dani Wyatt is the only new foreigner acquisition made by the UP Warriorz. The 32-year-old brings a lot of experience to the squad, as she has played for many teams in Australia, making over 150 WT20I appearances. She has scored a little over 2,600 runs, hitting centuries twice and half-centuries 13 times.

Wyatt is decent with the ball and has picked up 46 wickets in 759 deliveries. Apart from the Australian, the Warriorz have also roped in Poonam Khenmar and Saima Thakor for INR 10 lakhs each, while Gouher Sultana has been added to the squad and cost the team INR 30 lakhs.

Squad: Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Danni Wyatt, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana, Chamari Athapaththu

Royal Challengers Bangalore won just two of their eight matches last season and failed to qualify for the playoff after finishing four points behind the UP Warriorz. The team spent INR 2.1 crore on seven players to turn things around. The most expensive purchase for the Royal Challengers was the acquisition of Ekta Bisht, which cost INR 60 lakhs.

Bisht was the first player to clinch a hat-trick in a women’s T20i match in 2012. In 883 deliveries, the 38-year-old veteran has picked up 53 wickets. Joining her in the bowling attack will be Georgia Wareham, who cost Royal Challengers INR 40 lakhs. In the inaugural season, the 24-year-old was acquired for INR 75 lakhs by Gujarat Giants.

Wareham bowled in just two innings and picked up one wicket. She had a subpar season with the Giants, finishing with an economy of 10.73. The Australian will be looking to turn her form around with her new team and help them contest for the playoff and then for the title. The Bisht and Wareham duo could be the one to keep an eye on.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore spent INR 30 lakhs each on Kate Cross, Sabbhineni Meghana, and Simran Bahadur. Sophie Molineux was one of the cheapest foreign acquisitions at the 2024 WPL Auction, as the Australian spinner cost the Royal Challengers INR 10 lakhs. It will be interesting to see how the new recruits fit into the squad.

Squad: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Indrani Roy, Shradda Pokharkar, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht, Shubha Satheesh, S Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux, Nadine de Klerk