WPL teams announced their retention lists on September 28, 2026, and several overseas names were left out in what many observers would consider surprising decisions. Three players in particular stand out given their experience and T20 records at the international level.
UP Warriorz, Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have each parted ways with a notable overseas cricketer ahead of the WPL 2027 auction. Here is a look at the three players released and what their T20 careers tell us about them.
3. Deandra Dottin (UP Warriorz)
Deandra Jalisa Shakira Dottin, born on June 21, 1991, in Barbados, is a right-hand batter and right-arm medium-pace all-rounder. She made her T20I debut on June 27, 2008, against Ireland and went on to play 154 T20I matches, scoring 3,228 runs at an average of 26.03, including 2 centuries and 14 fifties, with a top score of 112*. She also claimed 77 wickets at an average of 20.14, with a best of 5/5. At the 2010 Women's T20 World Cup, Dottin scored 112* off 45 balls against South Africa, becoming the first woman to score a T20I century. That innings remains the fastest century in Women's T20I history. She was also the first woman to score two T20I centuries and the first female cricketer to hit 100 sixes in T20Is.
2. Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Gujarat Giants)
Danielle Nicole Wyatt-Hodge, born on April 22, 1991, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is a right-hand batting all-rounder who also bowls right-arm off break. She made her T20I debut on March 4, 2010, against India and played her last T20I on July 5, 2026, against Australia. Across 187 T20I matches, she scored 3,671 runs at an average of 24.47, with 3 centuries, 23 fifties and a top score of 124. She also took 46 wickets at an average of 15.54, with a best of 4/11, and held 44 catches. Wyatt-Hodge was a runner-up at the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup with England, making her release by Gujarat Giants a notable one ahead of the WPL 2027 auction.
1. Grace Harris (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
Grace Harris, the decorated Australian cricketer, has been released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of WPL 2027. Harris has played 56 T20Is, scoring 577 runs at an average of 22.19 and a strike rate of 155.53. In the WPL, the 33-year-old has scored 818 runs in 31 matches at an average of 30.30 and a strike rate of 149.55. She scored 237 runs in WPL 2026, including two fifties, helping RCB win the title. Her release was one of the most surprising ones on Tuesday.