Knight, Bell & Wong released by WPL sides

Heather Knight (left), Lauren Bell (centre) and Issy Wong (right) will have to decide whether to enter the auction or not

England captain Heather Knight and seamers Lauren Bell and Issy Wong have been released by their Women's Premier League franchises before the 2025 season.

Knight, 33, and Bell, 23, both pulled out of the 2024 tournament to focus on England's tour of New Zealand.

Knight, who scored 135 runs in 2023, has been released by holders Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Bell has left UP Warriorz, who are led by England head coach Jon Lewis.

Wong, 22, took 15 wickets in 10 matches as Mumbai Indians won the 2023 edition, but only took three in two matches in 2024.

Sophie Ecclestone, the number one ranked T20 bowler in the world, has been retained by UP Warriorz, while Nat Sciver-Brunt will stay at Mumbai Indians.

All-rounder Alice Capsey has been kept by Delhi Capitals, while Kate Cross remains at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

It had been already been announced that opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge had joined RCB from UP Warriorz for 30 lakh rupees (£27,400).

Scotland's Kathryn Bryce has been released by Gujarat Titans.

In total 71 players, including 25 overseas players, have been retained. That means 19 slots, and five overseas roles, will be filled at the auction.

Retained and released players for WPL 2025

Delhi Capitals

Retained: Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia and Titas Sadhu.

Released: Aparna Mondal, Ashwani Kumari, Laura Harris and Poonam Yadav.

Gujarat Giants

Retained: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Bharti Fulmali, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Laura Wolvaardt, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh, Phoebe Litchfield, Priya Mishra, Sayali Satghare, Shabnam Shakil and Tanuja Kanwer.

Released: Kathryn Bryce, Lauren Cheatle, Lea Tahuhu, Sneh Rana, Tarannum Pathan, Trisha Poojitha and Veda Krishnamurthy.

Mumbai Indians

Retained: Amandeep Kaur, Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Jintimani Kalita, Keerthana Balakrishnan, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, S. Sajana, Saika Ishaque, Shabnim Ismail and Yastika Bhatia.

Released: Fatima Jaffer, Humairaa Kaazi, Issy Wong and Priyanka Bala

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Retained: Asha Shobana, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Ekta Bisht, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Kanika Ahuja, Kate Cross, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, S. Meghana, Shreyanka Patil, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine and Sophie Molineux.

Released: Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Shraddha Pokarkar, Shubha Satheesh and Simran Bahadur.

UP Warriorz

Retained: Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Chamari Athapaththu, Deepti Sharma, Gouher Sultana, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Poonam Khemnar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Uma Chetry and Vrinda Dinesh.

Released: Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, S. Yashasri and Lauren Bell.