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The first Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction concluded in Mumbai on Monday, February 13. While a total of 448 players were shortlisted for the auction, 97 were sold, out of which 30 were overseas cricketers. In all, the five franchises - Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz - spent a combined amount of ₹59.5 crore.
India Women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was the first player to go under the hammer. She was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹3.4 crore and ended up being the most expensive buy at the inaugural WPL auction. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur was bought by Mumbai Indians for a comparatively low price of ₹1.8 crore.
All-rounder Deepti Sharma and batter Jemimah Rodrigues were the other big Indian purchases at the WPL auction. While Deepti was sold to UP Warriorz for ₹2.60 crore, Rodrigues was picked up by Delhi Capitals for ₹2.20 crore. Among overseas stars, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner (₹3.2 crore) and England’s Natalie Sciver (₹3.2 crore) were the top buys.
As the franchises prepare for the maiden season of the Women’s Premier League, we rank all five squads.
#1 Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals quite comfortably ended up putting together the most balanced WPL squad on paper. Unlike in the IPL, the Women’s Premier League franchises were given a purse of ₹12 crore, so going for a marquee player came with its own risks. Delhi understood this very well and went for quality cricketers, but divided their amount very efficiently, which allowed them to put together a versatile team.
The Capitals purchased Jemimah Rodrigues for ₹2.2 crore, Shafali Verma for ₹2 crore, and Australian captain Meg Lanning for ₹1.1 crore. They had enough funds to buy seasoned South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp for ₹1.5 crore. Delhi also made some good-budget Indian purchases - Radha Yadav (₹40 lakh), Shikha Pandey (60 lakh), and Poonam Yadav (₹30 lakh).
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s WPL 2023 auction can be split into two parts. They went all out at the start for big names. However, having purchased only five players, they had spent ₹9 crore of their ₹12 crore purse.
After Smriti Mandhana’s purchase for ₹3.4 crore, they were extremely lucky to pick up New Zealand captain Sophie Devine for ₹50 lakh.
Seasoned Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry (₹1.7 crore) and the Indian duo of Renuka Singh Thakur (₹1.5 crore) and Richa Ghosh (₹1.9 crore) were Royal Challengers Bangalore's other big purchases at the WPL auction. After that, they hit a lull due to a lack of funds.
Bangalore, however, were alert enough to acquire the services of Heather Knight (₹40 lakh) and Dane van Niekerk (₹30 lakh) in the accelerated round of the WPL auction. The two buys added much-needed depth to their squad.
#3 Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians would consider themselves the luckiest of all WPL franchises since they got to purchase India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur for ₹1.8 crore. Given her stature in international cricket and the skills she possesses, Harmanpreet was expected to be among the top buys at the WPL auction. Apart from Harmanpreet, MI also purchased England all-rounder Nat Sciver for ₹3.2 crore.
Further, Mumbai made some other strong purchases, going for New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr at ₹1 crore and Indian pacer Pooja Vastrakar for ₹1.9 crore. They were also lucky to pick up Hayley Mathews for ₹40 lakh.
Mumbai Indians, however, spent ₹1.5 crore for young Indian batter Yastika Bhatia, which some experts felt was probably a bit too much. As they spent heftily on a few big players, Mumbai had to go for a number of budget buys at the WPL auction.
#4 UP Warriorz
UP Warriorz’ best purchase was seasoned India Women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma for ₹2.6 crore. They also went for England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone at ₹1.8 crore, Aussie all-rounder Tahlia McGrath (₹1.4 crore), experienced South African Shabnim Ismail (₹1 crore) and Australian keeper-batter Alyssa Healy (₹70 lakh). This represents quite a strong bunch.
Barring Deepti, though, they lack star Indian names. Devika Vaidya (₹1.4 crore), Anjali Sarvani (55 lakh), and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (40 lakh) are good purchases without a doubt. But one just gets the feeling that they did not go all out for some of the bigger Indian players.
#5 Gujarat Giants
Looking at the Gujarat Giants squad after the WPL 2023 auction, they were extremely keen on star performers from overseas. Thus, they purchased Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner for ₹3.2 crore and prolific keeper-batter Beth Mooney for ₹2 crore.
England batter Sophie Dunkley (₹60 lakh) and Anna Sutherland (₹70 lakh) were also decent overseas picks. Gujarat also did well to purchase West Indies’ Deandra Dottin for ₹60 lakh.
When it came to Indian buys, though, they were one step below UP Warriorz. The latter at least managed to acquire the services of Deepti Sharma. The Gujarat Giants went for Harleen Deol (₹40 lakh), Sneh Rana (₹75 lakh), and Sushma Verma (₹60 lakh), among others.
With all due respect to the above names, Gujarat failed to strike a balance between their overseas and Indian buys.
Also Read: Ranking the WPL Auction 2023 strategies of all 5 teams
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