3 surprising signings of WPL 2024 auction ft. Danielle Wyatt

The second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will see several players make their debuts in the tournament. After the incredible success of the inaugural season, the second edition of WPL promises to be better with the addition of some exciting talents who can take the tournament by storm.

The auction was held on December 9 (Saturday) in Mumbai which saw some surprise inclusions, while quite a few names who are at the top of their international career failed to find a spot. Sri Lanka batter Chamari Athapaththu, who recently led Sri Lanka to a famous series win against South Africa, failed to attract bids from either of the five franchises.

Mumbai Indians, the defending WPL champions, look like the most complete side in terms of all-round attributes. Harmanpreet Kaur led the team admirably in the first season and will be hoping for her players to set up another memorable campaign.

Delhi Capitals also boast of some of the biggest names in international cricket and their performance in the previous WPL season was enough to mark them as one of the favourites of the tournament.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore and the UP Warriors have some big names in the squad but what makes them trail the best has been the lack of balance in the all-rounder department.

Having someone like Ash Gardner on their side will always give them confidence, but the rest of the lower middle order and the finishers are far from finished products.

While Athapaththu failed to attract a bid, there were quite a few players whose lives changed forever after the auction. That said, let us have a look at three surprising signings for this edition of the WPL:

# 3 Sophie Molineux

Molineux hasn't managed to find a permanent spot in the Australian national team.

Molineux, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, was a surprise pick by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL Auctions. She was bought at her base price of Rs 30 lakh and will be seen in the RCB colours in the upcoming season. However, the question arises whether there was a need for RCB to buy a spinner despite the first team looking very balanced.

The four expected foreigners in the playing XI should be Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Sophie Devine and Georgia Wareham. They have some strong spinning options from the Indian contingent as well in the likes of Shreyanka Patil and Ekta Bisht.

It might have been a better option for the Challengers to have opted for someone who could have brought more value to the squad. Molineux was picked at the last hour and it will be interesting to see whether she gets a match in the WPL.

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# 2 Danielle Wyatt

While Danni Wyatt is an established name in the international circuit, she failed to find a bidder in the inaugural WPL season. However, she managed to strike a deal with the UP Warriorz after Wyatt was bought at her base price of Rs 30 lakh.

It could have been an absolute given the prowess Wyatt possesses in the shorter formats but the point here is that the Warriorz already have a settled unit with their four foreign slots almost sealed.

In case of any injuries to their main players, it will be difficult for Wyatt to break into the XI. The likes of Allysa Healy, Grace Harris, Sophie Ecclestone and Tahila McGrath are the expected foreign starters while Lauren Bell can also chip in when required.

Since their squad has some incredible names in the batting department, it would have been apt for them to go after a seam bowling option.

They have a very inexperienced pace bowling unit which might haunt them in the upcoming season. However, if Wyatt does get a chance, she has all the attributes to strike gold.

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# 3 Kashvee Gautam

The 20-year-old Kashvee Gautam became the most expensive uncapped player in WPL history when she fetched a whopping Rs 2 crore and struck a mega deal with the Gujarat Giants. She broke Vrinda Dinesh's record who was bought at Rs 1.3 crores just moments ago.

It was a life-turning WPL auction for Gautam but is she good enough to bag such a whopping price without quite playing at the national level? A medium pacer who can swing the ball both ways, she made an impression for India A during the series against England A by picking up important wickets.

However, she doesn't have experience of rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the game. The level of competition goes up by rapidly from domestic cricket to international cricket. The Gujarat Giants also have a settled unit and whether picking an uncapped player for such a big amount is justifiable remains to be seen.