Gujarat Giants have not retained Laura Wolvaardt as all five teams confirmed their retentions on Thursday ahead of the WPL auction in New Delhi on November 27.

Wolvaardt top-scored in the recently concluded ODI World Cup and led South Africa to the final and will be the most sought-after name at the auction.

The rules allow only two overseas players to be retained and the Giants opted for the Australian duo of Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner.

Apart from Wolvaardt, the other big name not retained is India all-rounder Deepti Sharma. She was the Player of the Tournament in the recently concluded World Cup.

However, the other big Indian stars, like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues, have all been retained by their respective franchises.

Delhi Capitals decided to let go their skipper Meg Lanning, despite reaching three successive finals. Shafali, Jemimah, Marizanne Kapp and Annabel Sutherland have all been retained for the same value with young Niki Prasad becoming their fifth retention.

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Mandhana and Gujarat Giants all-rounder Ash Gardner have been retained for the maximum price of ₹3.5 crore.

Each franchise has been allotted ₹15 crore to build their squad for WPL 2026.

Sciver-Brunt, and not captain Harmanpreet, was MI’s first retention.

RCB’s new head coach Malolan Rangarajan was all praise for Richa.

“Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order,” Rangarajan said. “Somebody we view with leadership potential as well.”