The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 begins on Friday with a clash between defending champion Mumbai Indians and former winner Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Here’s a list of some of the players who will be missing out on the fourth edition of the WPL:

Ellyse Perry

The Australia veteran withdrew from this season due to personal reasons. Perry, who has featured for RCB in all three seasons of WPL till date, has scored 972 runs and taken 14 wickets in 25 appearances for the side.

She was also the top run-scorer in the second edition of the tournament, which RCB won. She was retained by the franchise along with Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, and Shreyanka Patil ahead of the mega auction. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has named Indian pacer Sayali Satghare in Perry’s place.

Annabel Sutherland

Like Perry, Sutherland also opted out of the season due to personal reasons. Sutherland appeared for Gujarat Giants in the first edition of the tournament, before moving to DC in the second. She had a successful 2025 season, taking nine wickets and scoring 95 runs.

She was one of DC’s five retentions along with Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Shafali Verma, and N. Shree Charani. Aussie leg-spinner Alana King has been named as Sutherland’s replacement at Delhi Capitals.

Yastika Bhatia

The India wicketkeeper-batter was on Thursday ruled out of the WPL 2026 season. Her franchise, Gujarat Giants, said in a statement, “The Gujarat Giants family sends love and strength to Yastika Bhatia, who will miss this season due to an unfortunate injury.” Yastika had also missed the Women’s ODI World Cup after she suffered an injury to her left knee during India’s preparatory camp in Vizag.

In the WPL, she has scored 506 runs in three seasons while being a Mumbai Indians player.

Tara Norris

Norris has been named in the USA national team’s squad for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers, and will not be available for UP Warriorz. Australian all-rounder Charli Knott has been named as her replacement.

(Other players whose participation still remain uncertain include Pooja Vastrakar and Pratika Rawal as they are yet to return from injury and await fitness clearance.)

Published on Jan 08, 2026