Ellyse Perry and Sutherland - (Source: Johns/X.com)
On December 30, RCB and Delhi Capitals dealt a heavy blow ahead of the fourth edition of WPL as Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland pulled out of the league because of personal reasons. WPL put out an official message confirming the same, which sent the internet into a shockwave.
Tehe fans were disappointed because the two stars are one of the marquee players in the tournament, and their absence leaves a big void and disrupts the entire team balance. It is the first time in WPL history that players of such magnitude and status have ditched the league at the last moment.
Pulling out of the league at the last moment without prior notice or proper reason is a common practice in IPL, which eventually forced the BCCI to bring strong laws to prevent such actions. However, the fans are now demanding a ban for Perry and Sutherland.
Meanwhile, a section is curious whether IPL rules will apply here, and the two Australian cricketers will be forbidden from featuring in WPL 5 as well. Therefore, this article will shed light on the WPL rules.
BCCI rules regarding players skipping the league after the auction
Will Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland be banned from WPL 2027? Here's what the rules say
Notably, after IPL 2024, the governing committee released new sets of rules stating strict punishments for players not registering for the auction.
Rule 1: Overseas players who make themselves unavailable for an IPL season after being bought at an auction without legitimate reasons will henceforth be penalised with two-year bans.
Rule 2: An overseas player will not be allowed to register for a mini auction if he does not register for the preceding mega auction.
Firstly, the two players will not be banned because the BCCI had made these rules specially for IPL and not WPL. Therefore, neither Perry nor Sutherland will be forbidden from featuring in WPL 2027. Adding on, the above-mentioned rules are specifically for players who pull out of the league after the auction.
Technically, there is no rule specified for the players who were retained and pulled out of the league days before the start of the new season. Therefore, even if the same IPL rules were to be applied for WPL, then too Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland wouldn’t have faced the ban.
Perry and Sutherland’s time at RCB and Delhi Capitals
WPL started in 2023, and Ellyse Perry was roped in by RCB for 1.70 crores. The Australian all-rounder has been with the Challengers for three seasons and also lifted the trophy in WPL 2024.
On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals signed Annabel Sutherland for 2 crores in WPL 2024. The 24-year-old has reached the final twice with DC but failed to get here hands on the prestigious title.
At present, the duo have not revealed the exact reasons behind their absence, but it seems that Cricket Australia want to look at their workload management, given the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 starts in June this year. However, the current action might prompt the BCCI to soon come up with new rules.
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