India opener Smriti Mandhana broke bank early as she became the first pick in the Women’s Premier League auction history, being bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 3.40 Cr. A total of 87 players were bought by the five franchises for a a sum total of Rs. 59.50 Cr. The second costliest Indian player so far is all-rounder Deepti Sharma who was bought by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 crore.
However, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came much cheaper for Mumbai Indians at nearly half the price of Mandhana at Rs 1.80 crore. Delhi Capitals get their first player of the auction as they successfully bid for Jemimah Rodrigues at Rs 2.2 crore. Indian opener and U-19 T20 World Cup winning captain Shafali Verma gets a successful bid of Rs 2 crore by Delhi Capitals.
One of the prominent picks during the first round was Australia’s off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who was bought by Gautam Adani-owned Gujarat Giants for Rs 3.20 crore. Star Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry received a cool Rs 1.70 crore winning bid from RCB who also got New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine dirt cheap at base price of Rs 50 lakh. Our senior cricket reporter Devendra Pandey is covering the WPL auction from the venue.
#WPLAuction ✅
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) February 13, 2023
Here are the squads of all the 5️⃣ franchises 🔽
How excited are you to see them take the field 💪 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tNrKnG4Adi
The list you’ve been waiting for 😉
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) February 13, 2023
Take a look at the 🔝 Buys of the inaugural #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/1DzmyeX6Hs
Key Figures of Auction
Teams: 5
Names: DC, MI, RCB, Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz
Minimum Salary Mandatory: Rs 9 crore
Maximum Salary purse/team: Rs 12 crore
Minimum Squad Strength Mandatory: 15
Maximum Squad Strength: 18
Maximum India players in squad: 12
Maximum Overseas players/squad: 6
Total number of players available: 409
Indian players for auction: 246
Foreign players from Full members: 155
Players from Associate Nations: 8
Name of auctioneer: Malika Sagar
Nb: A team can field five foreign players in playing XI if the fifth player is from Associate nation.
