Michael Klinger has explained why Gujarat Giants released Danni Wyatt-Hodge ahead of the WPL 2027 auction: the franchise wants overseas flexibility at the 28 October auction in Kochi, and the England opener has a series clashing with the tournament window. She played just one game in WPL 2026.
Gujarat Giants have released England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge ahead of the WPL 2027 auction, and head coach Michael Klinger has been unusually open about why. Speaking on the Star Sports retention deadline show, Klinger called her "a world-class player" but admitted "she didn't get a lot of game time last year": she was the back-up opener to Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine and played just one game in WPL 2026.
| Retention call | |
|---|---|
| Released (overseas) | Danni Wyatt-Hodge |
| Released (India) | Titas Sadhu, Aayushi Soni, Shivani Singh |
| Retained overseas | Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner (captain), Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Sophie Devine |
| Mini auction | 28 October, Kochi |
| Purse (reported) | About ₹1.25 crore |
The driver, Klinger said, was the overseas combination. Letting Wyatt-Hodge go hands the Giants, in his words, "another option as an overseas player in the auction and seeing what's out there and what other skill sets are out there". With the retained overseas core already holding Mooney, Gardner, Wareham, Garth and Devine, the franchise decided it would rather shop the auction floor than keep a world-class player warming the bench.
The England scheduling clash
Availability mattered too. An England series falls across the WPL window, and Klinger said Wyatt-Hodge's own preference was to be playing cricket rather than "potentially being part of our squad and maybe being on the bench". He added that he was not sure whether she would even enter the auction pool, which opens the door to a rival franchise swooping for a proven opener.
What this signals
The release list ran deeper than the England star: fast bowler Titas Sadhu, who missed WPL 2026 with a hand injury, was also let go along with uncapped batter Aayushi Soni and wicketkeeper-batter Shivani Singh. Klinger said Sadhu is attending the Giants' off-season camp and could be bought back. WPL 2027 runs from 14 January to 7 February, so Kochi on 28 October is where Gujarat's season will really be decided.
It is a bold, slightly risky move: cutting a proven England international because the squad puzzle changed, and explaining the axe in public. If the Giants land a better-fitting overseas signing at Kochi, it is shrewd list management; if Wyatt-Hodge ends up starring for a rival, this interview will be quoted back at them all season.
Pick your own touring party
Franchise auction tables are where seasons are really won and lost, and the Giants just reshuffled theirs. In BuildXI you spin eleven real IPL squads from 2008 to 2025, take one player from each, and play a full season with the side you end up with. The target is 14-0: fourteen league games, fourteen wins.