Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry is set to miss the upcoming edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) due to personal reasons. However, hours after the announcement was made official by her franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), she was spotted featuring for Wellington in the Women's Super Smash, a domestic T20 league in New Zealand.
Notably, the Super Smash is set to be played till January 31 and clashes with the WPL, which is scheduled to take place from January 9 to February 5. Perry's appearance in the New Zealand-based T20 league raises a big question about whether she skipped the WPL to play the Super Smash.
However, it is still unclear whether Perry has signed up with Wellington for the entire tournament, as she had featured in only two matches in the previous Super Smash season as well. The veteran all-rounder scored 39 runs in her first appearance for Wellington this season on Wednesday (December 31), even as her team registered a huge win by 61 runs against the Northern Districts.
Why is Ellyse Perry not playing in WPL 2026?
For the unversed, WPL confirmed her decision to pull out of the upcoming season only on Wednesday. But the RCB, in their post on X, stated that Ellyse Perry had informed them of her decision a week before the mega auction.
Nevertheless, they have already signed Sayali Satghare as Perry's replacement for the 2026 season. But the franchise will miss the veteran all-rounder's experience in WPL this year. Having said that, Perry's appearance in the Women's Super Smash also raises a lot of questions and a lot more will be speculated in the near future if she ends up playing the entire tournament in New Zealand.
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