WPL 2023 Auction: Smriti Mandhana fetches highest bid as 5 teams spend Rs 59.50 crore on 87 players
India vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction, which saw five teams spend Rs 59.50 crore on 87 players.
The 5 teams, namely, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants, will battle it out in the much-anticipated T20 tournament, which will be played in Mumbai from March 3 to 26.
The WPL auction got underway with India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana fetching INR 3.40 crore to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore. As many as 10 India women’s team cricketers got stunning Women’s Premier League 2023 bids in excess of Rs 1 crore.
The Indian team, which is currently in South Africa for the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, could be seen cheering and clapping as the auction progressed.
In other top bids for Indians, Deepti Sharma joined UP Warriorz for a price of Rs 2.60 crore, India’s match-winner against Pakistan Jemimah Rodrigues was sold for Rs 2.20 crore, Under-19 T20 World Cup winning captain Shafali Verma joined DC for Rs 2 crore.
India wicket-keeping batter Richa Ghosh was roped in by RCB for a price of Rs 1.90 crore, all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar joined the Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.90 crore, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was roped in by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.80 crore, fast-bowler Renuka Singh wa picked up by RCB for a price of Rs 1.5 crore, Mumbai Indians shelled out Rs 1.5 crore for Yastika Bhatia, and Devika Vaidya joined the UP Warriorz for Rs 1.4 crore.
As far as the overseas players are concerned, the top bids included Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner fetching Rs 3.20 crore from Gujrat Giants, England superstar Natalie Sciver was roped in by MI for Rs 3.20 crore, Australia’s Beth Mooney fetched Rs 2 crore and joined GG, England’s Sophie Ecclestone was sold to UP Warriorz for Rs 1.80 crore, and Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry was picked up by RCB for Rs 1.70 crore.
The total money spent by the five teams was Rs 59.50 crore from the permitted purse of Rs 60 crore. DC and RCB managed to build a full-strength 18-player squad, while MI and GG managed to bring in 17 players, as UPW roped in 16 players for the 2023 WPL.
Top 10 most expensive players in WPL 2023 Auction
1. Smriti Mandhana – RCB – Rs 3.4 crore
2. Ashleigh Gardner – GG – Rs 3.2 crore
3. Natalie Sciver – MI – Rs 3.2 crore
4. Deepti Sharma – UPW – Rs 2.6 crore
5. Jemimah Rodrigues – DC – Rs 2.2 crore
6. Beth Mooney – GG – Rs 2 crore
7. Shafali Verma – DC – Rs 2 crore
8. Pooja Vastrakar – MI – Rs 1.9 crore
9. Richa Ghosh – RCB – Rs 1.9 crore
10. Harmanpreet Kaur – MI – Rs 1.8 crore