DC Enter WPL 2027 Auction With Rs 1.10 Crore and Five Open Slots
Delhi Capitals will go into the Women's Premier League 2027 auction with a budget of Rs 1.10 crore and five open slots, according to head coach Jonathan Batty. The auction in Kochi on Wednesday will see 150 players, including 122 Indian and 28 overseas players, go under the hammer. The five franchises have 27 vacant slots between them.
Batty said that a mini auction is more demanding than many people assume. Teams must prepare for several possible situations while managing a limited purse and a restricted number of slots, and the planning often needs to be more detailed than for a mega auction.
Delhi Capitals, runners-up on four occasions, have built their approach around careful preparation. The retention and release of players was completed about a month before the auction, giving the management plenty of time to decide which areas of the squad needed strengthening.
In a video shared on the WPL's social media platform X, Batty said the team had used this time to study what went well in the last season. He described the planning as both challenging and enjoyable, given the many paths the auction could take.
"Even a mini auction needs a lot of planning, and sometimes it needs more than a mega auction, because there can be many different routes or scenarios," he said. "That is what makes it so much fun."
Batty also credited the franchise's scouting team with playing a central role in this planning. Scouts, who are tasked with identifying players, were responsible for finding Nandani Sharma, N Sri Charani and Nicky Prasad, who are now representing India.
"Over the last four years, identifying talent is something we have done very well," Batty said. "Our scouts found players like Nandani Sharma, Sri Charani and Nicky Prasad. They have developed a great deal, and all of them are now playing for India. That is why we trust our scouting group. They have given us some fantastic names and helped us make good decisions."
The coach added that selecting the right players has been a major reason for Delhi Capitals' steady performances in the tournament. Even so, the franchise is still searching for its first WPL title after reaching the final in each of the last four seasons.
The WPL's fifth season will run from January 14 to February 7, 2027. The venues for the tournament are yet to be finalised.
"The most important thing is having the right players on the field, so selection matters a lot," Batty said. "We have performed very well over the last four years. Reaching the final in all four seasons is excellent, but we have not won the trophy yet, so our work is not finished. That is our aim again this year, and we will give our best to win the trophy for the fifth time."