It’s been a long-time question for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise and their fans on whether they would eventually invest in women’s cricket, with the other big franchises, including Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), doing it and winning titles successfully. For the growth of the game, that side needs to get a new women’s side. 

The franchise Chief Executive, Kasi Vishwanathan, who is one of the most humble cricket administrators, was present at the Tamil Nadu Global Tourism Summit and revealed their plan to invest in women’s cricket under MS Dhoni’s vision in the future. He also confirmed that Dhoni would remain a part of their system forever.

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“MSD will surely play this season and will be with CSK forever. And the very next step for us will be to invest in women’s cricket. You can be sure of it.” Vishwanathan expressed in an interview with Revsportz.

CSK CEO confirms MS Dhoni's presence for franchise forever 

The story of Dhoni and the CSK franchise is a long-time moment where the franchise won the event under the wicket-keeper batter five times, with the latest coming in the 2023 season when they got the better of the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Dhoni’s association with Chennai was not straightforward at the start, but it later grew over the years.

“We picked MSD in the auction in 2008 and must say he will forever stay our best investment. Most other teams had an icon player. Mumbai had Sachin, Kolkata Sourav, Bengaluru Rahul, and so on. We did not, and we went for Dhoni, for VB Chandrasekhar had mentioned him to N Srinivasan, saying he would make a fantastic leader. How correct he was!” Kasi Vishwanathan addressed.

“We in CSK have known from the very start that cricketers and administrators think differently. It is better that cricketers are allowed to take on-field calls while the administrators focus on things off the field. MSD had our fullest support in shaping the team and the way we played. The bond was organic, and you can see the results.” The CSK CEO shed light during the same interview.

The former World Cup-winning captain of the Australia Cricket Team, Meg Lanning, will feature for the UP Warriorz in the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), having featured for the Delhi Capitals in the first three editions of the tournament, where they finished as the runners-up of the event twice and losing both to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

Lanning has notched up an overall 952 runs in 27 innings of the WPL at an average of 39.66 and a strike rate of 127.10, with the help of nine half-centuries at the best score of 92 runs. In the previous season of the competition, the right-handed batter nailed 276 runs in nine innings at 34.50 and a strike rate of 118.96, thanks to three half-centuries.

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Lanning was in a restaurant ahead of their opening clash of the WPL 2026 against the Gujarat Giants at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, where she was seen dancing to the song of Chikni Chameli as the video went viral on various social media platforms.

Meg Lanning dances to the Chikni Chameli song before WPL 2026

Lanning comes into the WPL 2026 season in great touch. In the 2024/25 season of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) for the Melbourne Stars, the former captain smashed 479 runs in 11 innings at an average of 53.22 and a strike rate of 136.07, with the help of three half-centuries and one century at the best score of 135 runs.

Watch the video here: 

Meg Lanning dancing to Chikni Chameli was NOT on my #WPL2026 bingo. pic.twitter.com/LihGvYVcOe

— Lavanya 🎙️🎥👩🏻‍💻 (@lav_narayanan) January 10, 2026

Overall in her career, Lanning has drilled 3405 runs in WT20Is in 121 innings at an average of 36.51 and a strike rate of 116.37. She celebrated 15 half-centuries and two centuries at the best score of unbeaten 133 runs. UP Warriorz will hope to get the batter's version of the batter.

UP will begin their campaign against the Gujarat Giants before facing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the same ground in Navi Mumbai. On January 14, they will be up against the Delhi Capitals before locking horns with the Mumbai Indians on January 15.

The spin all-rounder, Shreyanka Patil, who will feature for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCBW) in the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), has revealed the vital advice of Jasprit Bumrah, the premier pacer of the Indian men’s cricket team. Patil has overall picked up 20 wickets in 16 WT20I innings.

In terms of her performance in the WPL history, the 23-year-old has collected 19 wickets in 15 innings at an average of 18.36 and a strike rate of 12.90 with an economy rate of 8.51 at the best bowling figures of 4/12 in an innings. She addressed how missing the World Cup wasn’t a great feeling for her.

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“I thought it was just a one-off injury. I felt I'd be back in two or three months. I never imagined I wouldn't be on the field for more than a year. Once I started missing tournaments back-to-back, and then missing out on WPL, that was a big blow for me. Missing the World Cup hurt a lot. As a cricketer, you always want to lift that trophy.” Patil expressed in an interview.

Shreyanka Patil discusses Jasprit Bumrah’s valuable suggestion

Patil was recently part of the 2025 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for the Barbados Royals, where she picked up only one wicket in five innings at an average of 115 and a strike rate of 96 with an economy rate of just over seven.

“I had so many questions. About bowling under pressure, about practicing yorkers. Even though he's a fast bowler and I'm a spinner, I bowl at the death too. He told me, 'This is okay, everyone goes through it.' He said I'm facing it at a young age, so don't fight it. Just be in it. No words can describe how I felt.” The Karnataka spinner shed light.

“I was overthinking before that. 'What if I'm not retained, which team will I play for?' All those thoughts were there. After the call, I rang Arjun [Dev, her personal coach], sir, and just started crying. I didn't even know what I was feeling. It was just so much love and belief.” Patil claimed. 

Ahead of the fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that a mega auction will be held in the final week of November, reshaping the squads for the next cycle. All five franchises submitted their lists of retained and released players on November 5, with the official announcement scheduled to air tonight on Star Sports after the India vs Australia 4th T20I.

The WPL’s new retention policy allows franchises to retain a maximum of five players, up to three Indian players and two overseas internationals.

Retention Price Slabs

Teams that retain fewer than five players will receive Right to Match (RTM) cards during the auction. For instance, a team retaining only two players will be granted three RTM cards.

WPL 2026 Mega Auction Details

• Date: November 27, 2025
• Venue: New Delhi
• Total Purse: ₹15 crore per team

Franchise-Wise Retentions and Purse Remaining

Mumbai Indians (MI)

When everyone expected Harmanpreet Kaur to be the top retention after a successful year leading India to the ODI World Cup title, the Mumbai Indians surprised everyone by naming Nat Sciver-Brunt as their top pick for ₹3.5 crore.

Retained Players:

Purse Remaining: ₹5.75 crore

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

The defending champions retained their strong core led by Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry. Newly appointed head coach Malolan Rangarajan expressed his excitement about shaping the next chapter for RCB Women.

Retained Players:

Purse Remaining: ₹6.15 crore

Delhi Capitals (DC)

Delhi went for a balanced mix of Indian and overseas talent. Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma continue to headline their batting unit, while the addition of young all-rounder Niki Prasad gives them a long-term prospect.

Retained Players:

Purse Remaining: ₹5.7 crore

Gujarat Giants (GG)

The Giants have chosen to go with just two overseas retentions, both superstars of the women’s game, leaving themselves plenty of flexibility with a large auction purse.

Retained Players:

Purse Remaining: ₹9 crore

UP Warriorz (UPW)

UP Warriorz have gone with a clean slate, retaining only one player, Shweta Sehrawat, which gives them the largest purse heading into the auction.

Retained Players:

Purse Remaining: ₹14.5 crore

Big Names Released Ahead of the Mega Auction

Several marquee players are reportedly heading into the auction pool this year, making it one of the most anticipated drafts yet.

Top 5 Potential Releases:

• Meg Lanning
• Sophie Ecclestone
• Deepti Sharma
• Alyssa Healy
• Laura Wolvaardt

The WPL 2026 mega auction promises to be a blockbuster event. With franchises reshaping their cores and big international names set to go under the hammer, expect plenty of surprises and record-breaking bids on November 27.

The next few weeks will define how the WPL’s fourth edition shapes up, and which team builds the next championship-winning combination.