WPL 2027 Auction Unsold Players: Dunkley, Athapaththu Go Unsold as Kamalini’s Price Crashes

Every auction has its shocks, and the WPL 2027 mini auction in Kochi on October 28, 2026, was no exception. While UP Warriorz were spending Rs 1.10 crore on Australia captain Sophie Molineux, some of the most recognisable names in women’s cricket went through the entire evening without a single bid. England batter Sophia Dunkley, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu and India spinner Saika Ishaque all went unsold — and they were not alone.

The reason is arithmetic more than ability. This was a mini auction, not a squad reset: the five franchises had already retained 63 players between them, including 23 overseas cricketers, before the bidding began. Only 27 slots were available, just seven of them for overseas players, and the five teams shared a combined remaining purse of only Rs 8.15 crore. In that kind of market, even proven internationals can be left waiting — and 25 of the 27 slots were filled, leaving two franchises, RCB and Delhi Capitals, with one vacancy each.

Sophia Dunkley unsold at WPL 2027 auction despite Rs 50 lakh base price

The biggest surprise of the evening was Dunkley. The England batter entered the auction at Rs 50 lakh — the joint-highest base price in the entire pool, matched only by Molineux herself — and went unsold. It is a familiar frustration for Dunkley in this league: she played for Gujarat Giants in the first WPL season and went unsold in the 2025 auction as well.

What worked against her was the structure of the auction, not her record. With only seven overseas slots available across five teams and most franchises having already retained their overseas cores, teams had to be ruthless about which overseas gaps they filled. UP Warriorz used three of those seven slots on Molineux, Grace Harris and Kathryn Bryce; RCB used two on Jess Jonassen and Chloe Tryon; Delhi Capitals took Scotland spinner Kirstie Gordon; Gujarat Giants took Ireland’s Orla Prendergast. Once those seven slots were gone, there was simply no overseas room left — and Dunkley’s Rs 50 lakh base price made her a harder fit than a Rs 10 lakh uncapped Indian in a purse-tight auction.

Chamari Athapaththu unsold: Sri Lanka captain finds no takers

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, one of the most destructive batters in the women’s game, also went unsold at a base price of Rs 30 lakh. Athapaththu’s case underlines the same point: this auction was never about reputation alone. Teams arrived in Kochi with settled overseas groups — UP Warriorz kept Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield and Sophie Ecclestone; RCB kept Ellyse Perry, Georgia Voll, Lauren Bell and Nadine de Klerk; Mumbai Indians kept Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Nicola Carey, Shabnim Ismail and Tara Norris, acquired from UP Warriorz in a pre-auction trade.

For a Sri Lanka captain who has carried her national side’s batting for years, going unsold is a reminder of how quickly women’s franchise cricket has professionalised: franchises now buy for specific squad gaps — a back-up keeper, a left-arm spinner, a finisher — rather than for star power in the abstract. Athapaththu, listed at Rs 30 lakh, did not match any of the seven overseas gaps teams were actually trying to fill.

Saika Ishaque unsold after Mumbai Indians release

India left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque, released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction, was another notable name to go unsold at Rs 30 lakh. Ishaque’s story is the domestic mirror of the overseas squeeze: with 14 of the 25 players sold being uncapped, teams spent their limited Indian slots on low-cost, high-upside domestic talent rather than on released players at higher base prices.

Mumbai Indians themselves illustrate the shift. Working with the smallest purse of Rs 90 lakh, they bought six uncapped Indian players — Shweta Sehrawat (Rs 20 lakh), Disha Kasat, Latika Inamdar, Bharti Rawal, Sanika Chalke and Akshita Bhagat (Rs 10 lakh each) — rather than re-signing experience. In a mini auction, Rs 30 lakh for one released player is three uncapped players’ worth of budget, and franchises voted with their wallets.

Other experienced players unsold at WPL 2027 auction

Beyond the three headline names, several other experienced players also went unsold, including India seamer Titas Sadhu and overseas bowlers Mair, Mlaba and Vlaeminck, all listed at Rs 30 lakh. Sadhu’s case is particularly notable: released by Gujarat Giants, she was part of a group of young Indian quicks who might once have expected a mini-auction bidding war, but the purse math left no room.

The pattern is consistent across the unsold list. Base price mattered enormously. Players listed at Rs 30 lakh or Rs 50 lakh needed a team with both an open slot and a specific need; players at Rs 10 lakh could be picked up almost as a free hit in the accelerated rounds. That is why the auction’s late rounds were dominated by Rs 10 lakh signings — Vrinda Dinesh to RCB, Samaira Raghav to Gujarat Giants, Nazma Khan to Delhi Capitals, and a string of uncapped Indians to Mumbai Indians.

The other surprise: G Kamalini’s price crash from Rs 1.60 crore to Rs 40 lakh

If the unsold list was one shock, G Kamalini’s new price was another. The wicketkeeper-batter, whom Mumbai Indians had signed for Rs 1.60 crore for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, was picked up by Gujarat Giants for her base price of Rs 40 lakh — a drop of Rs 1.20 crore from her previous price. It is the clearest illustration of how a mini auction reprices players: Kamalini is the same batter, but the market around her had completely changed, with only Rs 8.15 crore in total purse money and most teams already settled behind the stumps.

For Gujarat Giants, who had only three slots to fill after retaining 15 players, it is arguably the value buy of the auction: a proven young Indian keeper-batter at a quarter of her previous price, joining a squad built around Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner and Sophie Devine.

Uma Kashvi: the auction’s happiest surprise

The counterweight to the unsold stories was Delhi Capitals’ signing of Uma Kashvi. At 15 years and 202 days, the Karnataka all-rounder became the youngest player ever sold at a WPL auction, surpassing the previous record held by Deeya Yadav, who was 16 when signed last year. Delhi opened the bidding at her base price of Rs 10 lakh and no other franchise entered the race.

Kashvi, a right-arm spin-bowling all-rounder who has already represented India Under-19 against Sri Lanka Under-19, scored 516 runs at an average of 172 in the 2025-26 Under-15 One-Day Trophy, including three centuries. Delhi head coach Jonathan Batty has been careful to frame her as a long-term project rather than an immediate starter — but in an auction defined by caution, hers was the one signing that felt like pure upside.

Why so many big names went unsold at the WPL 2027 auction

Three factors explain the unsold list. First, retention: with 63 players already kept, including 23 overseas stars, teams arrived with nearly complete squads and shopped only for gaps. Second, the purse: Rs 8.15 crore across five teams is the smallest auction purse in WPL history, and most of it — Rs 3.75 crore — sat with UP Warriorz alone. Third, the format: a mini auction has no Right to Match card and no squad reset, so there is no mechanism for a team to rescue a player it likes but cannot immediately afford.

The result is a league that looks more settled than ever heading into its fifth edition from January 14 to February 7, 2027. The most sixes in WPL history charts will not be adding Dunkley’s name this season, and the best all-rounders in WPL conversation will go on without Athapaththu — but the most wickets in WPL history race gains a new chapter with Jonassen’s move to RCB and Ecclestone staying at UP Warriorz. For the unsold stars, the wait continues until the next auction window; for the franchises, the squads are set.

WPL 2027 auction unsold players FAQs

Which big players went unsold at the WPL 2027 auction?

England batter Sophia Dunkley (base price Rs 50 lakh), Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (Rs 30 lakh) and India spinner Saika Ishaque (Rs 30 lakh) were the biggest names to go unsold, along with Titas Sadhu, Mair, Mlaba and Vlaeminck.

Why did Sophia Dunkley go unsold?

Only seven overseas slots were available across five teams, most franchises had already retained their overseas cores, and her joint-highest base price of Rs 50 lakh made her a difficult fit in a purse-tight mini auction.

What happened to G Kamalini’s price at the WPL 2027 auction?

Gujarat Giants signed her for her base price of Rs 40 lakh, down from the Rs 1.60 crore Mumbai Indians had paid for her for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Who was the youngest player sold at the WPL 2027 auction?

Delhi Capitals’ Uma Kashvi, at 15 years and 202 days — the youngest player ever sold at a WPL auction.

How many slots were left unfilled after the WPL 2027 auction?

Two: RCB and Delhi Capitals each finished with 17 players, one short of the full 18-member squad limit.