WPL 2025 Retention: RCB's full list of retained and released players; Devine stays, Knight released

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the defending champions expectedly haven't tinkered too much with their squad, retaining 14 players out of the maximum allowed limit of 18. The biggest name among the releases is of the England captain Heather Knight, who missed the last season due to clash.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained 14 players ahead of the WPL 2025 mega-auction while letting go of seven of them from their roster. The defending champions, on the expected lines, have stayed with their core group of Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux and the Indian trio of skipper Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh Thakur.

With the trade of Danni Wyatt-Hodge, RCB had eight overseas players in their squad and released two of them to meet the maximum limit of six. Hence, England captain Heather Knight and South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, who had come in as a replacement have both been released.

A total of seven players have been released by RCB ahead of the WPL 2025 mini-auction including five Indians. Simran Bahadur, Shubha Sateesh and Disha Kasat were some of the local players released by RCB.

RCB have now four spots remaining to be filled at the auction with a purse of INR 3.25 crore remaining. RCB are done with their overseas slots and hence, all four of their signings in the auction will be Indian players.

With Wyatt-Hodge now in the squad, the T20 World Cup-winning captain Sophie Devine might slot down in the middle order like she did for the White Ferns. Wyatt-Hodge, skipper Smriti Mandhana, Perry and Devine - that makes a scary top-order for any team with the likes of Richa Ghosh and Sophie Molineux to follow.

RCB's focus now will be some local all-rounders and bowling backups in the auction to support the likes of Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil and Renuka in the line-up with the overseas all-rounders complimenting them.

RCB's list of retained players

Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Devine, Renuka Thakur, Asha Shobana, Shreyanka Patil, Ekta Bisht, S Meghana, Danni Wyatt-Hodge (traded), Kate Cross, Sophie Molineux, Kanika Ahuja

List of released players by RCB

Indrani Roy, Disha Kasat, Heather Knight, Nadine de Klerk, Shraddha Pokharkar, Shubha Satheesh, Simran Bahadur