"It will be exciting to watch marquee players getting into the pool," Anjum Said ahead of WPL 2026 auction

Faridabad (Haryana) [India], November 26 (ANI): Former India captain Anjum Chopra has opened up about eight marquee players getting into the auction pool during the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 auction.

The WPL 2026 will take place in New Delhi on November 27. A total of 277 players - 194 Indians and 83 overseas cricketers are part of the auction. A total of 73 slots are available during the WPL 2026 auction. Each side can have up to 18 players in their squad, of which six can be overseas. The minimum squad size is 15.

Speaking to ANI, Anjum Chopra said it will be interesting to see how franchises will view these eight marquee players at the WPL 2026 auction. She also talked about players' expectations during the auction.

"Exciting. It will be obviously exciting to watch eight marquee players getting into the auction pool. How are they stacking up in the auction pool against each other? And also, how are the franchisees looking at these eight players in the marquee pool? That will be very interesting for you because that will be the first group that comes up in the auction," he said.

"After that, also, the players which are listed after them, whether it's which wicketkeeper goes where, which team has decided to keep who as their captain, especially the ones, especially for UP, Delhi, to decide or to announce their captain, especially for UP. It will all be very interesting to think and just get into those discussion groups as to what might be their strategy," Anjum said.

The eight marquee players during the WPL 2026 auction are Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh from India, Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr from New Zealand, Sophie Ecclestone from England, Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning from Australia and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt.

"Probably eagerness will, of course, be there with the players because you want to be a part of the WPL. If you're not picked in the auction, then you will obviously have to wait for your turn in case there is a replacement or in case you get called up later. So first and foremost, you want to be picked by one of those franchisees," she said.

"The eagerness will remain for which team you play for because sometimes for a player, there can be a preference. And when I say there shouldn't be much eagerness, it's because you cannot do anything. It's the auction. When you get there, which name comes out? What is the purse remaining for the franchisees? How do they see that player adding to their scheme of things? So there are a lot of permutations and combinations in that scheme of things. But at the end of the day, as a player, once you've dropped your name into that big pool, how it comes out, it's your luck," she added.

The former cricketer, Anjum, also hailed Team India for winning the ICC Blind Women's T20 World Cup. She added that it feels good when the Indian national flag is flying high.

"it's such a nice thing that the men's have won a World Cup. The women's team has won an ODI World Cup.

Now the blind cricket team for women has won a World Cup. I think that at the end of the day, when you see the tricolour flying high, it reminds you of the biggest achievement that you have as a player is winning a World Cup. So the moment the tricolour goes up, it's always a special feeling. And for this team to have won this so convincingly, I think it's amazing. We talk about challenges. I think you can just look at the direction of this present Indian team, how they have countered all their challenges and still emerged victorious. I think there's no reason to complain about anything further," Anjum said. (ANI)

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