3 similarities between RCB's signing of Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli

The Women's Premier League (WPL) auction, which is currently underway at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, has already witnessed some intense bidding wars with all teams desperate to put together a good squad.

Smriti Mandhana, India's sensational opener, b₹ecame a part of history as she became the first ever player to go under the hammer in the WPL 2023 auction.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans have a lot to be happy about as the franchise managed to snap Mandhana for a whopping amount of ₹3.4 crores after a bidding war against Mumbai Indians.

Leading up to the auction, RCB fans have been all over social media, hoping to see Mandhana in red and gold and they will surely be delighted.

RCB's signing of Mandhana bears a few similarities to the franchisee's signing of former Indian captain Virat Kohli back in 2008. Let's take a look at three such similarities.

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#1 High expectation from both players

Virat Kohli was signed by RCB in 2008, soon after winning the ICC U19 World Cup in Malaysia. By then, Kohli had already made a name for himself as a serious batting prodigy.

Although he was yet to play for India, his performances at the age group level were convincing enough for the franchise. RCB had huge expectations from the youngster as they fielded him in the first game itself, and that too at a crucial position.

Smriti is already a superstar in the international arena and is one of the best batters in the world. She is also vastly experienced, having featured in close to 200 games for India. She has scored over 6000 international runs, often making vital contributions when the team required them the most.

There were high expectations from Kohli when he was signed by RCB and it goes without saying that the franchise will expect a lot from Mandhana as well, with the latter all set to be the player around whom the team revolves.

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#2 Bought for big bucks

Kohli was bought at the inaugural IPL auction for a hefty sum of USD 30000 and he himself described the event as "absolutely crazy." It was the biggest amount a franchise paid for an U19 player and you can imagine the value of that amount back in 2008.

Mandhana, too, has been bought for a huge amount of ₹3.4 crores and she might just end up as the most expensive player in the inaugural WPL Auction.

RCB were keen to have Kohli as a part of the team in 2008 and the same can be said about Mandhana. The way the franchise went about the bidding process, it's quite obvious that the franchise desperately wanted the southpaw.

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#3 Both sport the number 18

In what is a massive coincidence, at the time of their respective signings, both the players sported No. 18 on their jerseys. Both continue to don the same number and it's quite amazing that the two superstars of Indian cricket have the same jersey number.

It has proven to be very lucky for Indian cricketers, with both Kohli and Mandhana delivering some phenomenal performances for their respective teams with No. 18 on their backs.