The Gujarat Giants shocked everyone with their retention announcement yesterday. They kept only two players from their previous squad for WPL 2026. This decision shows they want a complete team makeover after three poor seasons. Most fans didn’t expect such drastic changes from the franchise.
The team finished at the bottom multiple times in past WPL seasons. Management clearly wants to start fresh with mostly new faces now. Their bold retention strategy has created huge buzz among cricket followers.
Who Are the Retained Players for WPL 2026?
- Ashleigh Gardner (Overseas)
- Beth Mooney (Overseas)
Ashleigh Gardner is the first player the Gujarat Giants decided to keep. She’s been their most consistent performer with both bat and ball. Beth Mooney joins her as the second retained player on the list. Both these Australian stars bring loads of experience to the team.
The franchise could have kept up to five retained players total. But they chose to retain just these two overseas cricketers instead. This gives them more money to spend at the auction. They’ll have Rs 9 crore left in their purse for buying players. That’s a decent amount to build a strong squad from scratch.
The retain players’ rules for WPL 2026 allow teams to keep a maximum of five players. Only two can be international players though per team’s retention list. At least one uncapped Indian player is mandatory if retaining all five.
Big Names Released by Gujarat Giants
Laura Wolvaard and Harleen Deol won’t play for GG anymore after getting released. Deandra Dottin also didn’t make the list of retained players. Young talent Phoebe Litchfield is heading to the auction pool too. These three players will attract serious attention from other franchises definitely.
The WPL 2026 auction happens on November 27 in New Delhi. They will be shopping hard for new talent that day. They need to fix their team composition quickly before next season. Other franchises might grab these released stars before they can react.
