Women’s Premier League Auction 2023 Highlights: 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.
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While Smriti Mandhana’s 3.4 Cr bid of Royal Challengers Bangalore remains the hightest, a total of 87 players (57 Indian, 30 overseas) were sold in the inaugural WPL auction, amounting for a sum total of Rs. 59.50 Cr. 
Nooshin Al-Khadeer, Gujarat Giants bowling coach: “We spent a lot of time at the domestic level, we do understand there is depth at the domestic level, so it was important to pick the right international talent early on. We are happy with the balance, and the combination. We want to finish the auction to decide who will lead the side.”
Sahana Pawar is secured by Bangalore for Rs. 10 Lakh. And that, concludes the 2023 WPL Auction.
Sahana Pawar is bagged by RCB for Rs. 10 Lakh. And that concludes the 2023 WPL auction!
Sonam Yadav goes to Mumbai Indians for Rs. 10 Lakh. It is at the same price they bag Jintimani Kalita and Neelam Bisht.
Shabnam Shakil goes to Gujarat Giants for Rs. 10 Lakh.
And we return. For one last time. Megan Schutt is secured by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 40 Lakh.
England captain Heather Knight, who is currently captaining her side in the T20 World Cup match against Ireland, may have seen herself going unsold in the first time of the asking at the 2023 WPL auction. A few hours later, towards the fag end of the auction, RCB bag her for Rs. 40 Lakh INR. Dane Van Niekerk, who was dropped out of the South Africa squad for the World Cup, was at the end of some harsh criticism with regards to her fitness of late. RCB cashed in on the former South Africa skipper for Rs. 30 Lakh in the second round of accelerated auction. And now the team that had got Smriti Mandhana as the first buy in the league’s history look all the more wisdomous. For them, for the players, and for the auction, it ain’t over till it’s over.
Right then for each team to meet their minimum requirement of squad, which two teams are short of, the teams are being asked to propose three names each for a final round of accelerated auction.
Priyanka Bala goes to MI for Rs. 20 lakh.
Parunika Sisodia goes to Gujarat Giants at Rs. 10 Lakh.
Komal Zanzad goes to Bangalore for Rs. 25 Lakh.
Parushi Prabhakar remains unsold.
Nishu Choudhary remains unsold.
Neelam Bisht and Neetu Singh remain unsold.
Poonam Khemnar goes to RCB for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Humaira Kazi is secured by Mumbai for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Ashwani Kumari is bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Shipra Giri and Tess Flintoff remain unsold on the second time of asking.
Simran Shaikh and Aparna Mandal are secured for Rs. 10 Lakh each by UP Warriorz and Shipra Giri.
Ishwari Savkar remains unsold.
Dane van Niekerk is sold to RCB for Rs. 30 Lakh. So is Priti Bose for the same price.
Chloe Tryon of South Africa goes to Mumbai Indians for Rs. 30 Lakh.
India’s Arundhati Reddy is secured by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 30 Lakh.
Swagatika Rath of India remains unsold.
Sneha Deepthi is secured by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 30 Lakh.
Fast bowler Shabnam Shakil remains unsold.
India’s Hurley Gala bagged by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Jess Jonassen of Australia is secured by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 50 Lakh.
Poonam Yadav goes to Delhi Capitals for Rs. 30 Lakh.
Alana King of Australia remains unsold second time around.
Sushma Verma of India goes to Gujarat Giants for Rs. 60 Lakh.
India keeper batter Taniya Bhatia goes to Delhi Capitals for Rs. 30 Lakh.
England captain Heather Knight goes to RCB for Rs. 40 Lakh.
Suzie Bates of New Zealand remains unsold on the second time around as well.
West Indies’ swashbuckling opener and skipper Hayley Matthews goes to Mumbai Indians for Rs 40 Lakh.
The tensed and happy faces when @13richaghosh went under the hammer in #WPLAuction 🔨 #WPLAuction LIVE on #JioCinema & #Sports18 📺📲#WPL #WPLonJioCinema #WomensPremierLeague | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/1IIeJsAUuj
Phew, that was intense! 53 players went under the hammer inside what, 40 odd minutes. Let’s take a moment you and I and we’ll be back for the next round.
High Intensity 🚨!
Scenes from the #WPLAuction 👍
Which teams’ picks have impressed you the most so far? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/L4OVjOnpei
Sarah Bryce and Katherine Bryce from Scotland remain unsold.
Asha Shobana of India goes to RCB, secures a bid of Rs. 10 Lakh.
Parunika Sisodia remains unsold.
Saika Ishaque is bagged by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Nishu Choudhary remains unsold.
Tanuja Kanwar goes to Gujarat Giants for Rs. 50 Lakh.
Kanika Ahuja of India goes to Bangalore for Rs. 35 lakh.
Humaira Kazi remains unsold.
Shreyanka Patil of India goes to RCB for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Sanjana S of India remains unsold.
Minnu Mani is bagged by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 20 Lakh.
Shipra Giri, Tarannum Pathan and Ashwini Kumari of India remain unsold.
Disha Kasat, Lakshmi Yadav and Indrani Roy all go for Rs. 10 Lakh to RCB, UP and RCB again respectively.
India’s Arushi Goyal remains unsold.
Jasia Akhtar, a reputed Indian power hitter, goes to Delhi for Rs. 20 Lakh to Delhi.
Divya Gnananda and Ishwari Savkar remain unsold.
Dhara Gujjar of India goes to Mumbai Indians for Rs. 10 Lakh.
Australia’s Laura Harris is bagged by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 45 Lakh.
USA’s Tara Norris is successfully secured by Delhi Capitals for a base price of Rs 10 Lakh.
Gauhar Sultana, Ekta Bisht, Priti Bose and Mahika Gaur remain unsold.
Monica Patel is bagged by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 30 Lakh, keeping up with their penchant for young Indian players, Mithali Raj and Nooshin Al-Khadeer have been sensational so far on the auction table.
Indian players celebrate after taking a wicket. (File)
With the Women’s T20 World Cup underway in South Africa, but the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) player auction is bound to be a distraction of sorts for all the players. The auction os something the cricket world can’t neglect as the stakes are high. The five franchises Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz has already fetched the BCCI a whopping Rs 4,669.99 crore and the final piece in the makeup of the team is the player auction. The tournament which will be played from March 4 to 26 at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai (READ)
Pratyush Raj… read more