Franchises retain top guns ahead of WPL-2

There was no surprise in store as all the marquee players, including Mumbai Indians' Harmanpreet Kaur, Delhi Capital's Meg Lanning and Royal Challengers Bangalore's Smriti Mandhana, have been retained by their respective Women's Premier League franchises (WPL), the league announced on Thursday.

The window for the five franchises to retain players for the WPL 2024 season came to an end on October 15.

While 60 players, including 21 overseas cricketers, were retained across five franchises, 29 players were released from their existing squads.

Besides Kaur, who led MI to title triumph in the tournament's inaugural edition this year, the team has retained Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr and Isabelle Wong among others.

The Delhi-based franchise, which finished runners-up in the first edition, retained a total of 15 players, including 5 overseas players.

The UP Warriorz, who finished third, have retained their core group and have decided to hold on to the services of five of their overseas players, while the South African ace pacer Shabnim Ismail has been released.

Also released from the squad are Devika Vaidya, Simran Shaikh and Shivali Shinde.

Speaking about the players released from the team, Delhi Capitals' head coach Jonathan Batty said, "It wasn't an easy decision at all for us to let go of these players. They were all a crucial part of our very memorable inaugural season, and I wish them all the very best.

"We've got a solid squad in place, and will aim to make it more complete at the upcoming auction."

The following players from the five WPL franchises were retained and released from the squad:

Delhi Capitals: Retained Players: 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, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu

Released Players: Aparna Mondal, Jasia Akhter, Tara Norris

Gujarat Giants: Retained Players: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer

Released Players: Annabel Sutherland, Ashwani Kumari, Georgia Wareham, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Sushma Verma

Mumbai Indians: Retained Players: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia

Released Players: Dhara Gujjar, Heather Graham, Neelam Bisht, Sonam Yadav

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Retained Players: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine

Released Players: Dané Van Niekerk, Erin Burns, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar

UP Warriorz: Retained Players: Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia Mcgrath

Released Players: Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail, Shivali Shinde, Simran Shaikh.