WPL’s costliest player Deepti’s salary 9 times less than Pant:Comparison between IPL and Women’s Premier League salaries after 2026 auction

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction ended with Deepti Sharma emerging as the most expensive signing of the day, underlining her growing value as one of India’s most complete all-rounders. But even her record fee, the highest in WPL auction history, sits in a completely different financial universe when compared with recent IPL spending. Franchises went aggressive for Deepti early, making her the headline purchase of this year’s auction. Yet the final figure, while significant within the women’s circuit, remains just a fraction of what men’s cricketers routinely attract. IPL’s top buys are still in a league of their own To understand the scale of the divide, here is what the IPL’s most expensive auction picks in the last two seasons looked like: Even with Deepti setting a new WPL benchmark, the contrast is unmissable. The top IPL bids are 8.7 times higher than the biggest WPL payout. Pant alone fetched nearly seven times the amount of the WPL’s most expensive player. Also Read | Do Indian men women cricketers get paid equally?: Harmanpreet’s team emulate Kapil, Dhoni Rohit’s men but long way to go before pay parity
Why the gap persists? Budget size: WPL squads operate on significantly lower purse limits. Market maturity: The IPL’s commercial ecosystem is two decades ahead in scale and stability. Broadcast value: IPL rights dwarf every other cricket property, shaping franchise spending patterns. Despite this, the WPL continues to mark year-on-year growth, with more competitive bidding and deeper investment in domestic talent. A step forward, but the disparity stays The landmark signing reaffirms the rising demand for elite Indian women’s players. But the numbers from both auctions reveal the broader reality: women’s cricket is expanding rapidly, yet the financial gulf with the men’s game remains enormous.