MUMBAI INDIANS

In spending more than half their small purse on buying back Amelia Kerr for INR 3 crore, the reigning champions had made it abundantly clear that they could go all out in rebuilding the core that won them two titles in the inaugural three-year cycle. Shabnim Ismail was a steal at INR 60 lakh when RCB pulled out early, but the buy-back of Saika Ishaque and S Sajana felt a bit of an emotional call. But continuity has been MI's trademark. The lack of reliable Indian medium pacers, barring allrounder Amanjot Kaur, is glaring. That said, Mumbai once again have the backbone of the successful team in place alongside a few exciting uncapped names on the roster.

Strongest XI: Hayley Mattews, G Kamilini (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Poonam Khemnar, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque

DELHI CAPITALS

Despite the joint-lowest purse, Delhi were able to stitch together a future-proof side. The three-time runners up lost out on bringing back Meg Lanning, and then went all in on building a core of strong allrounders to add to their existing roster. They filled the Lanning void with the in-form Laura Wolvaardt, who also brings leadership experience even though the franchise has made up their mind on having an Indian captain going forward. DC spent INR 1.3 crore each on big-hitting Chinelle Henry and in bringing back Sree Charani, now a World Cup winner since her breakout WPL earlier this year. The return of Taniyaa Bhatia and Minnu Mani gives Delhi a more-or-less similar core as well, and Sneh Rana comes in to add experience to the spin department. Their fast-bowling department, however, will be heavily reliant on foreign names.

Strongest XI: Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Niki Prasad, Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana/Minnu Mani, Taniyaa Bhatia (wk), Sree Charani, Nandni Sharma

GUJARAT GIANTS

Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine walking out in orange is a familiar sight at WBBL, and Gujarat went all out early on to outbid RCB and DC and onboard the World Cup-winning New Zealand skipper at INR 2 crore. While their overseas bench is enviable, GG missed the trick at the auction by not investing in some of the bigger Indian names. Yastika Bhatia will play for her home state provided she makes a miraculous recovery from an ACL tear she suffered in September. Breakout performer of last season, Kashvee Gautamm is returning from long injury-layoff too and Renuka Thakur is prone. The lack of experience between their Indian and overseas bench is strong, and the team looks very top-heavy.

Strongest XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Yastika Bhatia, Ash Gardner (C), Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Renuka Thakur

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU

That the 2024 winners were chasing all-rounders and capped players was very evident. Another thing obvious was the Smriti Mandhana-Anya Shrubsole stamp on their picks. England's young Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith come in. Australia duo of Grace Harris and Georgia Voll might be competing for one spot, but together with the three big retentions and 2025 World Cup's breakout finisher Nadine de Klerk, it makes for another powerful batting line up albeit with a potential weak link in an Indian middle-order name. At one point, RCB almost spent their entire remaining purse on Shikha Pandey but eventually settled for Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy in lieu, alongside spinners Radha Yadav and Prema Rawat, who they RTM'ed after missing out on Asha from the winners batch of 2024.

Strongest XI: Smriti Mandhana (C), Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, D Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith

UP WARRIORZ

Looking to build from ground up and with just one retention of an uncapped Shweta Sehrawat, UPW were expected to dictate the shots with the biggest purse and they did so in aggressive bidding for Lanning, Pandey, Phoebe Litchfield and Asha Sobhana. Yet, the most expensive buy of this auction was World Cup MVP Deepti Sharma with DC hiking the price from INR 50 lakh to INR 3.2 crore once Warriorz confirmed their interest in exercising RTM. Then they lucked out with the opposition - DC on both occasions - not raising the bid any further when UPW RTM'ed Sophie Ecclestone (INR 85 lakh) and Kashvee Gautam (INR 50 lakh). In Kiran Navgire (RTM), Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal, they have plenty of Indian batters to compliment. UP have an all-round squad overall, but with the glaring oversight in not fetching a frontline, experienced wicketkeeper after letting go of their previous cycle's skipper, Alyssa Healy.

Strongest XI: Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Harleen Deol, Kiran Navgire, Deepti Sharma, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Shipra Giri (wk), Kranti Gaud, Shikha Pandey

*Player categorisation as per 2026 WPL Auction register