 "Deepti Sharma is now the second highest paid player in the Women's Premier League auction ever. X/UPWarriorz")
The mega auction for the 2026 Women’s Premier League is done and dusted. All five teams engaged in bidding wars on Thursday in New Delhi to sign the best available talent and came out with powerful squads for the next season of the biggest women’s cricket league in the world.
The auction saw a total of 67 players getting signed with a little over Rs 40 crore being spent. While the most expensive buy was an Indian, three out of the next four highest paid players at the auction were foreigners.
Here we check out the top five most expensive buys from the WPL 2026 mega auction.
READ MORE | WPL 2026 Auction: Full list of all updated squads with retained, bought players and price
5. Meg Lanning - Rs 1.9 crore to UP Warriorz
Former Australia captain Meg Lanning is heading to UP Warriorz after leading Delhi Capitals to runner-up finishes in all three previous WPL seasons. Lanning who has won seven World Cups, both T20I and ODI combined, will bring her wealth of experience to the UP side and could also get to captain the Warriorz who were led by Deepti Sharma last season.
4. Sophie Devine - Rs 2 crore to Gujarat Giants
Experienced New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine will be moving to Gujarat Giants from Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Giants won a three-way battle for Devine where her former team and Delhi Capitals. She will strengthen Gujarat’s top order and also give them a part-time medium pace option with the ball.
Quick Reads
View All3. Shikha Pandey - Rs 2.4 crore to UP Warriorz
The most successful Indian bowler in the tournament saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru and UP Warriorz break the bank for her. In the end, UP flexed their big purse to win the bid at a massive Rs 2.4 crore for Shikha Pandey whose medium pace will be really handy for the Warriorz
2. Amelia Kerr - Rs 3 crore to Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians had to let go of Amelia Kerr ahead of the auction due to retention rules but she will be back with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side as they spent almost their entire purse in signing her back. UP Warriorz were also keen on getting Kerr who was the highest wicket-taker last season but MI were just too determined.
1. Deepti Sharma - Rs 3.2 crore to UP Warriorz
The Player of the Tournament in India’s World Cup-winning campaign was expected to be the most in-demand player at the auction but she got just one bid. Delhi Capitals won the bidding war at just Rs 50 lakh before UP Warriorz used their Right to Match card. The Capitals then jumped the bid straight to Rs 3.2 crore but the Warriorz had no problem matching that as well, making Deepti the second most expensive buy in WPL history.