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The auction for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) season saw India batter Smriti Mandhana grabbing the headlines.
The left-handed opener, who is popular for her stylish stroke play, was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ?.40 crore. Her auction triggered a bidding war between Mumbai Indians (MI) and RCB. Listed under the base price of ?0 lakh, Mumbai and Bangalore tussled till her value rose to 3 crore before things dried down a bit. Two more bidding rounds before auctioneer Mallika Sagar finally closed it, with RCB leading at ?.40 crore.
Team India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the second player in the marquee set 1, was bought by Nita Ambani-owned MI for ?.8 crore. Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner also triggered a bidding war and was sold to Gujarat Giants for ?.2 crore, making her the second-most expensive player of the 2023 WPL season.
Top-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who took India over the finish line in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, was picked by Delhi Capitals for ?.20 crore.
Meanwhile, the England duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone went to MI and UP Warriorz for ?.2 cr and ?.8 cr, respectively.
Most expensive players at WPL Auction 2023:
- Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Rs 3.4 cr
- Ashleigh Gardner (Gujarat Giants): Rs 3.2 cr
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians): Rs 3.2 cr
- Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz): Rs 2.6 cr
- Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals): Rs 2.2 cr
- Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants): Rs 2 cr
- Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals): Rs 2 cr
- Pooja Vastrakar (Mumbai Indians): Rs 1.9 cr
- Richa Ghosh (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Rs 1.9 cr
- Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians): Rs 1.8 cr
- Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz): Rs 1.8 cr
The WPL 2023 is scheduled to take place in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. A total of 22 matches will be played at the two venues – Brabourne Stadium and D.Y. Patil Stadium.
