WPL 2026 Auction: RCB create unique record in Mega Auction

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru bolstered their team by acquiring twelve players in the TATA WPL Auction 2026.

Among the notable international signings are England's fast bowler Lauren Bell (bought for INR 90 Lakhs), Australian all-rounders Grace Harris (INR 75 Lakhs) and Nadine de Klerk from South Africa (INR 65 Lakhs), as well as Australia's top-order batter Georgia Voll (INR 60 Lakhs).

On the Indian front, the RCB women secured key players like Pooja Vastrakar (INR 85 Lakhs), Arundhati Reddy (INR 75 Lakhs), and Radha Yadav (INR 65 Lakhs).

The squad's composition was further enhanced by signing England's left-arm spinner Linsey Smith at her base price of INR 30 Lakhs, and Indian top-order batter Dayalan Hemalatha for the same amount. Prema Rawat, who recently featured for India A, rejoined the team after RCB used their Right-to-Match card for an uncapped Indian player, securing her at INR 20 Lakhs. Additionally, Indian all-rounders Gautami Naik and Prathyoosha Kumar were snapped up at INR 10 Lakhs each.

Head Coach Malolan Rangarajan reflected on the auction: "We've been able to cover most of what we set out to achieve. A key focus for us this year was strengthening our bowling group. With the retained squad already in place, the idea was to bring in players who complement them and add value to the overall balance."

Prior to the auction, RCB had retained Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, and Ellyse Perry.

RCB create Unique Record

Despite their many acquisitions in the mega auction, the RCB Women side didn't breach the Rs 1 crore mark in it. Lauren Bell was their most expensive buy at Rs 90 lakh. They went for some of the players beyond a crore, but ended up losing those bidding wars. All of the other WPL team breached the 1 crore mark in auction.