Harleen will "command good interest" in WPL auction: Former Indian skipper Anjum Chopra

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 25 (ANI): Former Indian captain Anjum Chopra expressed that batter Harleen Deol will "command good interest" in the upcoming Women's Premier League (WPL) auction and expressed surprise on the Gujarat Giants releasing her despite her being a "multi-talented batter who can bowl a bit".
Anjum was speaking on JioStar's 'Most Wanted: TATA WPL 2026 Auction' programme.
Speaking on the programme, JioStar expert Anjum said, "I am surprised Gujarat Giants released Harleen Deol. She's a multi-talented Indian player who can also bowl a bit, and I hope she develops her bowling skills further. She'll command good interest in the auction. Along with Deepti Sharma, she will be one Indian player every franchise will target because teams want strong Indian batters and potential leadership options."
Having played 20 WPL matches so far, Harleen has scored 482 runs at an average of 30.12 and a strike rate of 115.58, with two fifties. The previous season was really solid for her, with 232 runs in nine matches and innings at an average of 38.66, with a strike rate of over 120 and a half-century.
In T20Is for India, she has 298 runs in 19 innings, including a fifty and six wickets as well.
WPL 2026 auction player list has been unveiled, with 277 players aiming to fill up 73 available slots during the auction, which will take place on November 27 in New Delhi.
The auction list includes 194 Indian players, comprising 52 capped and 142 uncapped players, who will go under the hammer for 50 slots, while 66 overseas capped players and 17 overseas uncapped players will look to fill the 23 available slots.
The WPL 2026 Auction, scheduled to commence at 3:30 PM on November 27, will begin with the marquee set featuring eight players - Deepti Sharma (India), Renuka Singh (India), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Meg Lanning (Australia), and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa).A total of 19 players have registered in the highest base-price bracket of Rs 50 lakh, 11 players in the Rs 40 lakh bracket, and 88 players in the Rs 30 lakh bracket.
Each franchise will be allowed to build a squad of upto 18 players. A total of 73 slots have to be filled, including 23 overseas slots, across five franchises.
UP Warriorz, who just retained the uncapped Indian batter Shweta Sehrawat, will be entering the auction with the most amount of money in their purse, four right-to-match (RTM) options and a massive rebuilding to do.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI), captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, and three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have retained the maximum quota of five players and have no RTM available. DC also retained Shafali Varma and Jemimah Rodrigues, two young Indian batters who starred in India's ICC Women's World Cup title win, with standout performances in the knockout stages.
In these three seasons, WPL has seen some players getting massive bids, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana being the most expensive player in the tournament's history, with Rs 3.4 crore shelled out on her ahead of the inaugural season. She led RCB to the title in the 2024 season and was one of the four players, including Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil, retained by the franchise.
In total, 17 players, including seven overseas players, were retained across all franchises, and they will have a combined purse of Rs 41.1 crore to spend at the auction. (ANI)