The WPL 2026 auction was convened in Delhi on Thursday (November 27). Quality international players like Meg Lanning, Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone and Phoebe Litchfield were there to be picked in the auction.
Alyssa Healy (Australia) – Goes unsold Australia captain Alyssa Healy surprisingly does not get any bids. World Cup winning Deepti Sharma became the costliest player going for ₹ 3.20 Crore, to UP Warriorz, her home team in the last few seasons.
New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr was next in the list after receiving a bid of ₹ 3 Crore from Mumbai Indians, with which she has been re-signed by after being released ahead of the auction. Senior Indian pacer Shikha Pandey joined the bandwagon to bag a big deal as UP Warriorz spent ₹ 2.40 Crore on her from the base price of ₹ 40 Lakhs.
The bidding wars among the franchises in WPL 2026’s auction was a delight to watch for the fans, who have shared funny memes on X and Instagram.
Here are some of the best memes:
Didn't bid for Eccleston (80L).
Left the bid for Wolvaardt at 1.10 cr.
Left the bid for Litchfield at 1.20 cr.
Peak RCB moves. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/xcwzRnmVqJ
— 𝐊𝐨𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭!𝟎𝐧_👑🚩 (@bholination) November 27, 2025It's going to be scary, but not for us pic.twitter.com/B0IrXuBAYS
— 𝐊𝐨𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭!𝟎𝐧_👑🚩 (@bholination) November 27, 2025Abhishek nayar cooked 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Sophie Ecclestone
Kiran navgire
Deepti sharma
Phoebe Litchfield
Harleen deol
Meg Lanning pic.twitter.com/mNUDg5DlHG
— Ashish Shrivastava (@ashishayush1177) November 27, 2025CSK fans when #WPLAuction 😂 pic.twitter.com/anFxILXf5V
— Rajabets 🇮🇳👑 (@rajabetsindia) November 27, 2025*Alyssa Healy unsold in the WPL Auction*
Mitchell Starc before playing against India :#WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/cg3OMNNp7h
— 🅰️ J (@EHuman0) November 27, 2025Every team having a bidding war at the auction table.
Meanwhile, UP Warriorz with their RTM option- pic.twitter.com/YiIpKqR0xm
— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) November 27, 2025— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) November 27, 2025 — Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) November 27, 2025 Delhi and UP in WPL auctions pic.twitter.com/LwghE7Mus8
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) November 27, 2025Abhishek Nayar Says UP Warriorz Targeted a Big Auction Purse
UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar spoke in detail about the franchise’s strategy ahead of auction for WPL 2026 and reasons behind picking certain players in an interview to espncricinfo recently. He said:
“We wanted a big purse in the auction, that’s it. The first retention price was 3.5 crore, we got her in 3.2. So, there is still some money saved and we can get an extra player. Getting someone like Pratika Rawal, though she is injured, has become possible. So the mindset was we are going to get Deepti, that is the advantage of having the RTM. If we didn’t have the RTM, I think things would have been different.
After signing Meg Lanning and Phoebe Litchfield from Australia, Nayar added:
“Meg is a leader, we all know. Phoebe is also a kind of a leader, we think. She can add a lot of value to the team. She is a fearless cricketer. So we were very excited to have someone like that potential and I feel really good to buy her with that money. But right now we can’t say that they both are going to open for us.”
