WPL 2023 Auction: The first-ever WPL Auction was a big success with a number of international stars bagging lucrative deals, while several uncapped Indian players also getting handsome contracts from the five WPL franchises.
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played in March in Mumbai.
Here are the 5 most expensive players bought in the WPL 2023 Auction:
Smriti Mandhana: INR 3.4 crore, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Without any surprise, stylish India opener and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive player of the WPL Auction 2023, bought for INR 3.4 crore by RCB.
Mandhana was the first name to be brought up for the auction, and she set a bidding war between RCB and MI franchises. RCB director of Cricket Mike Hesson all but confirmed Mandhana as their captain.
The 26-year-old Smriti Mandhana made her India debut in 2013 and soon became an indispensable part of the team. The left-hander has a vast experience of 112 T20Is and 77 ODIs, and she has racked up over 5000 international runs, hitting 5 ODIs centuries, 25 ODI fifties, and 20 T20I fifties.
Natalie Sciver: INR 3.2 crore, Mumbai Indians
England’s Natalie Sciver is one of the marquee pace-bowling all-rounders in world cricket. The 30-year-old is a middle-order batter and regularly bowls 2-3 overs in T20 cricket. Her all-round facilities fetched her a big paycheck in the Women’s Premier League auction – INR 3.2 crore by Mumbai Indians.
An important cog in the England team, Natalie Sciver has featured in 104 T20Is, taking 78 wickets and scoring 1999 runs. She has also racked up over 3000 runs and 65 wickets in 94 ODIs.
Ashleigh Gardner: INR 3.2 crore, Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner is amongst the premier all-rounder in world cricket – arguably the best spin-bowling all-rounder currently in the world – and a significant contributor to Australia’s success in recent year. So it was deserved that the Gujarat Giants splashed a whopping INR 3.2 crore.
A middle-order batter and an off-spinner, Ashleigh Gardner has taken 48 wickets at 19 and scored 1069 runs at 26 in 68 T20Is in her career so far. The 25-year-old is expected to get even better and be the backbone of the Australian team, and the Gujarat Giants, in the coming years.
Deepti Sharma: INR 2.6 crore, UP Warriorz
Agra-born all-rouner Deepti Sharma was picked up by her home state franchise, UP Warriorz, in the Women’s Premier League auction, for a hefty amount of INR 2.6 crore.
25-year-old Deepti is an important player in the Indian team over the past five-six years. Deepti already has immense experience – of 80 ODIs and 88 T20Is, and has played at the two biggest stages the Indian team has reached in the past few years-2017 ODI World Cup final and 2020 T20 World Cup final.
The right-hander has scored close to 3000 runs in international cricket and, with his wily off-spin, taken over 90 wickets each in ODIs and T20Is at terrific economy rates.
Jemimah Rodrigues: INR 2.2 crore, Delhi Capitals
The team India rockstar, Jemimah Rodrigues bagged a massive contract worth INR 2.2 crore with Delhi Capitals. Only 22 years of age, Jemimah Rodrigues has featured in 76 T20Is, scoring 1628 runs at an average of 30 and hit 10 half-centuries, the latest of which came against Pakistan on Sunday, a day before the auction, in the T20 World Cup in South Africa. That certainly would have pushed Jemimah Rodrigues’ price in the WPL Auction by a few dozen lakhs.
Jemimah Rodrigues had an inconsistent start to her career, but since last year, she shown more consistency in the shortest format and has cemented her spot.
