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With the WPL 2026 starting in a few weeks time there was some big news today as Australian all-rounders Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland have both withdrawn from the upcoming of WPL 2026 season. Both players have withdrawn for personal reasons.
Australian leg-spinner Alana King has been named as Sutherland’s replacement at Delhi Capitals, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru has named pacer Sayali Satghare in Ellyse Perry’s place. Both Ellyse Perry and Sutherland were retained by their respective sides ahead of the WPL auction, and have been crucial to their sides success in previous seasons
Ellyse Perry has besn the MVP for RCB over the past seasons. She has scored 972 runs and taken 14 wickets in 25 matches for the side. She was also the top run-scorer in a few seasons back when RCB won the title. She was retained by the franchise along with Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, and Shreyanka Patil ahead of the mega auction. Sayali Satghare, her replacement, was part of the Gujarat Giants squad in 2025 and she managed just one wicket from four matches.
Annabel Sutherland had a successful 2025 season for Delhi taking nine wickets and scoring 95 runs. She was one of DC’s five retentions along with Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Shafali Verma, and N. Shree Charani. Her replacement Alana King, is a quality leg-spinner and has featured in only a single WPL match for UP Warriorz in 2025. For Australia she has taken 27 wickets in 27 T20Is at an average of 18.81.
Tara Norris also will miss the WPL As she has been named in the USA national team’s squad for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers, which means she is unavailable for UP Warriorz. They have signed Australian all-rounder Charli Knott has been named as her replacement.
The Indian cricket board also confirmed a list of replacements, as several players became unavailable for the fourth edition of the premier T20 competition, set to begin on January 9 with the season opener between defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The fourth edition of the WPL will be held in two legs at Navi Mumbai and Vadodara from January 9 to February 5.
