The final stages of the Women’s Premier League will coincide with the three-match Twenty20 International series between England Women and Sri Lanka on February 1, 3, and 5. Even if it means missing the bilateral series against Sri Lanka, the ECB has stated it will allow players to fulfilll their WPL obligations. For England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who has been signed by the Mumbai Indians for the 2027 WPL season, this scheduling conflict has created a crucial decision point.
Nat Sciver-Brunt earns about £320,000 for the WPL, making him one of the highest paid players in the league. With Sophie Ecclestone scheduled to play for UP Warriorz in the 2027 season, she is still one of just two England players kept by WPL teams. Only two English players—Sophia Dunkley and Kira Chathli—will participate in the WPL auction, which is set for October 28 in Kochi. I think she should be there if she wants to continue leading England as captain.
Nat Sciver-Brunt is among the WPL’s highest-earning players
“It doesn’t look good,” Winfield-Hill told Wisden. If you don’t demonstrate that playing for England is important to you, you can’t claim that. Money always talks, so it will be interesting to see how everything works out. The difference between her current income and what she would make for England would be substantial. However, I simply believe that you should play for England if you wish to remain captain of England,” she continued.
Nat Sciver-Brunt will have captained England in just four of the 14 T20Is played over the previous 12 months if she is unable to play in the Sri Lanka T20I series. Due to a calf injury, Nat Sciver-Brunt has already missed a lot of international cricket this year. While undergoing rehabilitation, she was unable to play in England’s T20I series against India in May 2026. She also only made four appearances during England’s T20 World Cup campaign due to the same injury.
Harry Brook’s decision about the men’s IPL was directly paralleled by Winfield-Hill. After withdrawing from the 2025 IPL, Brook was prohibited from participating in the auction for a period of two years. Despite the financial cost of withdrawing from the competition, Winfield-Hill clarified that Brook prioritized his obligations to England.
You have to have a great deal of respect for Harry Brook and the choice he made regarding the IPL, even though I hate to draw comparisons to the men’s game. And that was prior to him captaining England. Winfield-Hill remarked, “I care about playing for England, but that is a shit load of money.”
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In the past, the ECB has permitted players to skip bilateral T20Is in order to play in the WPL. Four English players—Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Capsey, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge—arrived late for the New Zealand series during the 2024 WPL season after fulfilling their WPL commitments.
Originally, the T20I series between Sri Lanka and England was supposed to happen following the conclusion of the WPL. However, the ECB and Sri Lanka Cricket have decided to move the Champions Trophy to the February window, so the series will start before the final stages of the WPL.
