The Australian all-rounder has scored 972 runs in the tournament across three seasons.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Ellyse Perry is not a part of the fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League. The Australian pulled out of the season, citing personal reasons. For the first time in their history, RCB will commence their season without Perry. The latest WPL 2026 updates also have a few other key players missing from the WPL 2026.
The 35-year-old was retained by the franchise for INR 2 crore, after which she informed them of her unavailability. However, the Smriti Mandhana-led side looks well settled in the new season and will aim for nothing less than what they achieved in 2024. They won the tournament opener against the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, in a nail-biting thriller.
Perry has played for the same franchise in all three seasons of the tournament so far, and has scored 972 runs at an average of 64.80 with eight fifties to her name. To add to that, she has also picked 14 wickets at an economy of 8.25. Every other franchise will take a sigh a relief knowing that Perry won’t be in the RCB playing XI.
That being said, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have named Sayali Satghare as a replacement for Ellyse Perry. Stepping into the role of the Aussie all-rounder would certainly be huge shoes to fill, but the fact that the management has shown trust in Satghare speaks volumes about her quality as a player.
Satghare does not have a lot of WPL experience, having played only four matches in the last two seasons. She was a part of the Gujarat Giants previously, and has been roped in at her base price of INR 30 lakh.
ALSO READ:
Smriti Mandhana will continue to make tactical changes to make sure that their middle order remains strong. In the previous contest, the skipper opened the innings with Grace Harris. Dayalan Hemalatha took the No.3 spot.
The bowling is pretty sorted too, with Lauren Bell and Arundhati Reddy leading the pace attack. Bell took the first wicket of WPL 2026, dismissing Amelia Kerr. Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil lead the spin-bowling department. The latter bowled out Gunalan Kamalini, who was looking solid with 32 off 28.
Nadine de Klerk first stole the show with the ball, scalping four wickets. While chasing 155, the South African took the game down to the wire. What looked like a game out of RCB’s hands, de Klerk revived the winning chances. She smacked 63 off 44, with seven boundaries and two sixes. They needed 11 runs in the last over, which started with two dot balls. With a 646 on the next three balls, de Klerk pulled off a stunning heist.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
