With the Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction concluded, most teams have completely revamped their squads, and based on their newly acquired teams, our article will attempt to rank each team based on their squad balance, depth, backups, and their chances of winning the 2026 Women’s Premier League championship.
Introduction
After three successful Women’s Premier League (WPL) seasons, all eyes are on the 2026 season, which begins in a month. With the recently concluded auction, teams have tried to put up a squad based on their three-year journey in this mega tournament. With stronger teams, the 2026 season is expected to be the toughest yet.
The auction also saw franchises aggressively building their squad to have a new approach to their game in this high-stakes tournament.
Teams that looked weak and out of contention in the 2025 edition have a whole new look post the auction held on November 27, 2025 making them no push over in the new upcoming season.
The five franchises Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB, Gujarat Giants(GG), and UP Warriorz (UPW) will again battle for the Championship title.
With the auction buys valid for a two-year cycle, there is a possibility of additional teams entering the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in a couple of seasons from now.
As mentioned, based on their auction strategies and buys, here is the ranking of the five WPL teams for the 2026 season. Will the championship see a new winner this edition?
What are the factors considered in Women’s Premier League (WPL)Team Rankings
- Squad Balance: Has the team ticked all boxes with skill sets required for various player positions?
- Bench Strength: Has the team created contingency plans in case of injury to any key player?
- Experience and star Power: Do the team have match winners who can influence team wins?
- Team solidity: Has the franchise ended up picking a team that they had planned before the mega auction, which matches their team philosophy
- Current form of Players: Are the team members in good form both in the International and domestic levels, including the BBL/ The Hundred?
SuperSports360 WPL Top Picks
UP Warriorz (UPW)
UP Warriorz (UPW) came into the auction raising a few eyebrows for not retaining their captain and ICC T20 World Cup player of the series, Deepti Sharma. They retained just one uncapped player in Shweta Sehrawat before the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 player auction. This meant UPW went into the auction with a massive purse of Rs 14.5 crore, clearly indicating a complete overhaul of their 2025 squad. They ended up making some impressive buys and have Deepti Sharma back in the fold by using the RTM card.
Their other biggest buy was Ex-Aussie captain Meg Lanning, who led the Delhi Capitals to all 3 finals in WPL history. Meg Lanning also captained Australia to four consecutive T20 World Cup titles, two ODI World Cups, and a Commonwealth Games gold medal. This move brings in a great leader on board, currently in red-hot form in the WBBL.
With Deandra Dottin, Chloe Tyron and in-form Kiran Navgire along with Phoebe Litchfield, the squad boasts a great batting line-up . With Deepti’s all-round abilities, they have boosted their bowling with a steal buy of world No. 1 bowler Sophie Eccelstone, making it an envious bowling unit.
The Only flaw in the auction would be UPW’s inability to buy a specialist, capped wicket keeper.
UPW will enter the tournament as firm favourites for the title.
Super sports Team give UPW a 65% Probability of winning the title
UP Warriorz Squad
Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Asha Sobhana Joy, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Chloe Tyron, Shirpa Giri, Simran Shaikh, Tara Norris, Suman Meena, G Trisha, Pratika Rawal
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Two-time champions and defending title holders will also be eyeing the Title for a third time, as they went into the auction with a clear mandate of bringing back most of their winning 2025 squad.
Unlike other teams, Mumbai Indians (MI) was happy to have a mirror image of their 2025 squad.
The squad will again be led by the Current World Cup-winning captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. With a Strong batting and bowling balance, the Mumbai Indians (MI)have a team used to winning tournaments and their squad oozes of stability. With a perfect balance of Indian and overseas players, the squad stands out for their versatility.
Mumbai Indians (MI) are a serious contender, and SuperSports Team give MI a 60% Probability of winning the title again.
Mumbai Indians (MI) Squad
Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Rahila Firdous, Sajeevan Sajana, Nicola Carey, Saika Ishaque, Triveni Vasistha, Poonam Khemnar, Nalla Reddy, Milly Illingworth.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
RCB went into the mega auction with a strategy to not go for big names but target current in-form T20 specialists.
They retained their core before the mega auction with Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry, along with Richa Gosh and Shriyanka Patil.
Batting has been strengthened with the inclusion of Grace Harris, Georgia Voll and World Cup South African hero Nadine de Klerk. All three are useful with the ball, too, making them great buys for the 2026 season.
Like the Mumbai Indians, RCB also have a good Indian contingent that gives balance to the squad.
RCB may have flown under the radar in the auction, but it has ended up building a dangerous side.
Even without having big names in the squad like other teams, RCB are the team to watch out for, and Super Sports Team give RCB a 55% Probability of winning the title again.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Squad
Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine De Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Having been in all three finals of the tournament, Delhi Capitals (DC) cannot be ignored. But did they make a blunder by releasing Meg Lanning?
Delhi had retained five players but left out Meg Lanning, the captain who got them into the three finals.
In the mega auction, Delhi secured high-quality Indian spinners. International buys included the consistent Laura Wolvaardt, but as per report, Delhi would likely have an Indian captain. Jemimah Rodrigues may be the prime candidate for being Delhi’s new captain. With Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp, Delhi has a strong middle order.
With big names in their squad, the absence of Meg Lanning may become Delhi’s Archilles Heel this season.
Do not discount Delhi yet, we at SuperSports give Delhi Capital a 50% Probability of winning the title.
Delhi Capitals (DC) Squad
Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Nallapureddy Shree Charani, Sneh Rana, Lizelle Lee, Deeya Yadav, Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Mamatha Madiwala, Lucy Hamilton, Minu Manni
Gujarat Giants (GG)
Gujarat Giants (GG) could be the dark horse of the 2026 season after they were able to secure Sophie Devine, which will allow them to have strength in their batting and bowling. Gujarat Giants (GG) have a strong batting lineup but over-reliies on their international picks. Compared to other teams, the team may lack depth and bowling variety. Being a newer squad, the team may take time to become a unit and may falter in pressure situations, with their Indian contingent lacking the experience and strength
SuperSports Team give Gujarat Giants (GG) a 45% Probability of winning the title.
Gujarat Giants Squad
Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh, Bhart Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Anushka Sharma, Tanuja Kanwer, Kashvee Gautam, Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Happy Kumari, Shivani Singh, Ayushi Soni, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
Summary
Teams with the right balance will make it to the top 4 of the tournament, and teams over-reliant on a few players may struggle in crunch matches. A long season, with double round-robin games, may take a toll on the players. The tournament will require backup players, which some teams clearly lack.
Depth and mental strength will matter more than just star-studded line-ups. All-rounders will dominate the WPL 2026 Season as they have done in all three seasons in the past. Teams with a weaker playing eleven may be a dangerous unit if there is team cohesion, good leadership and a strong coaching setup. So, no team can be taken lightly. The 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is expected to be the most competitive, and fans will enjoy the 2026 season especially after India’s World Cup Triumph.
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