Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] November 6 (ANI): Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil have been retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 Mega Auction.

Mandhana, who led RCB to the WPL 2024 title, will continue as captain and is the first player retained for Rs 3.5 Cr, while dashing wicket-keeper batter Richa, whose stocks continue to rise, has re-signed with the franchise for Rs 2.75 Cr, as per a release from RCB.

On WPL Retentions for RCB, Malolan Rangarajan, Head Coach, said, 'For the forthcoming season and the new WPL cycle, our first retention will be Smriti Mandhana. She will continue to lead RCB as captain. With Smriti, we get a left-handed opener, a very, very aggressive batter. That's something that resonates with how we want to play. And also, a very, very calm leader who we think is tactically very astute. And not to forget, she was the captain who brought RCB its first title.'

Perry, one of the greatest ever cricketers to play the sport, will continue her association with RCB for a sum of Rs 2 Cr as the third player retained, with spin bowling all-rounder Shreyanka Patil - who won the Purple Cap in WPL 2024 but was ruled out of the previous edition due to injury - re-signing as the fourth retention for Rs 60 lakhs.

'Our second retention will be the exciting young wicketkeeper, Richa Ghosh. She is among, if not the best, middle-order batter, plus being a wicketkeeper gives us an all-round ability. Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order. And somebody we view with leadership potential as well,' Rangarajan added.

'Our third retention will be Ellyse Perry. I could go on about her achievements on the field, but I want to take a second to only mention what happens behind the scenes and what sort of standards she sets for our dressing room and for all the players. So having her involved in our future is very exciting. Even the way she presents herself on the field gives us three skills. Among the top run-getters across three years. Very handy with the ball, can bowl either in the powerplay or middle or death, plus her fielding. She's a live wire,' Rangarajan said.

The four retentions have been made for a total sum of Rs 8.85 Cr, leaving RCB Rs 6.15 Cr in the purse to spend at the mega auction, in addition to one 'Right To Match' card that can be exercised to bring back an uncapped player.

'Our fourth retention will be Shreyanka Patil, our young and bubbly off-spinner from Bengaluru. With Shreyanka, it was one of those decisions where we wanted to give ourselves a little bit of time because everybody was aware that she's been on the sidelines for the last year or so. So we gave her the opportunity to go ahead and play a couple of tournaments. We saw her play, we did due diligence behind the scenes, had healthy discussions among coaches and the core group. And we came to the decision to retain her because one, she's an exceptional cricketer, an off spinner who's able to give us bowling through three phases. She's an Indian capped player and gave us the opportunity to build around three Indian core players plus Perry,' Rangarajan noted.

'So that made it a very exciting prospect for us. We've retained Smriti Mandana at 3.5 crores, Richa Ghosh at 2.75 crores, Ellyse Perry at 2 crores and Shreyanka Patil at 60 lakhs. Cumulatively, that gives us a spend of 8.85 crores, which leaves us with about 6.15 crores going into the auction,' he concluded. (ANI)