Ranking the WPL Auction 2023 strategies of all 5 teams

The first Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction concluded in Mumbai on Monday, February 13. Five franchises took part in the bidding - Delhi Capitals (DC), Gujarat Giants (GG), Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and UP Warriorz (UPW). A total of 87 players were sold at the first-ever WPL auction, with 30 of them being overseas cricketers. A combined amount of ₹59.50 crore was spent by the five franchises on the auction table.

India Women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (₹3.4 crore to RCB), Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner (₹3.2 crore to Gujarat), England all-rounder Natalie Sciver (₹3.2 crore to MI), Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma (₹2.6 crore to UPW) and Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues (₹2.2 crore to DC) were the top five buys at the WPL 2023 auction.

Rather surprisingly, India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur wasn’t among the top purchases. She was sold to Mumbai Indians for ₹1.8 crore.

With the first auction for the Women’s Premier League coming to an end, we rank the strategies of all five franchises.

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#1 Delhi Capitals (8.5/10)

Delhi Capitals during the auction. Pic: BCCI

Delhi were left with a purse of ₹35 lakh after purchasing 18 players - the biggest of all franchises by a distance. Despite this, a glance at the final squad leads one to the conclusion that they did quite a smart job.

DC managed to purchase impressive personnel in both batting and bowling at the WPL auction. Jemimah Rodrigues, India’s batting star against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match on Sunday, February 12, was bought for ₹2.2 crore.

Aggressive batter Shafali Verma is also a good pick at ₹2 crore. Both the other players Delhi picked for over a crore are proven international performers - Australian captain Meg Lanning (₹1.1 crore) and seasoned South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp (₹1.5 crore).

The squad gives the impression of one that is finely balanced between experience and youth. They also managed some steal deals with regard to Indian players. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav was purchased for ₹40 lakh and pacer Shikha Pandey for ₹60 lakh.

It can, of course, be argued that Delhi could have utilized their remaining funds better. But looking at their squad strength, DC would be highly pleased.

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#2 Mumbai Indians (8/10)

The Mumbai Indians (MI) think-tank. Pic: BCCI

It goes without saying that Mumbai Indians were extremely lucky to hire India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur for ₹1.8 crore. They thus decided to spend much more on Nat Sciver (₹3.2 crore). The England all-rounder is a proven performer in white-ball cricket. However, Kaur and Sciver’s purchase added up to ₹5 crore of MI’s ₹12 crore purse.

New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr (₹1 crore) and Indian pacer Pooja Vastrakar (₹1.9 crore) are impressive purchases, as is Yastika Bhatia. However, the last mentioned name for ₹1.5 crore is debatable. Bhatia is still very much a work in progress, although she will be keen to prove critics wrong in the WPL.

At ₹40 lakh, West Indies captain Hayley Mathews is an absolute steal for MI. The franchise exhausted their purse by purchasing 17 players at the WPL auction. Still, on paper, they look a couple of match-winners short.

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#3 UP Warriorz (7/10)

UP Warriorz are one of the five franchises. Pic: BCCI

UPW targeted one big Indian name in all-rounder Deepti Sharma (₹2.6 crore) at the auction while focusing on multiple overseas star performers. Seasoned England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (₹1.8 crore), was a big buy for UPW at the WPL auction.

The Warriorz also acquired the services of Australian all-rounder Tahlia McGrath (₹1.4 crore), senior South African pacer Shabnim Ismail (₹1 crore), and renowned Aussie keeper-batter Alyssa Healy (₹70 lakh).

Despite purchasing the likes of Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Kiran Navgire, and Devika Vaidya, one gets the feeling that UPW were forced to compromise on Indian talent since they placed greater focus on foreign names at the WPL auction, barring Deepti.

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#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore (6.5/10)

Royal Challengers Bangalore ponder their strategy. Pic: BCCI

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went on a shopping spree at the start of the WPL auction. In fact, they purchased the first-ever player in Women’s Premier League history, spending ₹3.4 crore for India Women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana - the biggest buy of the day.

RCB spend ₹1.7 crore for experienced all-rounder Ellyse Perry, ₹1.9 crore for attacking Indian keeper-batter Richa Ghosh, and ₹1.5 crore for pacer Renuka Singh.

Even though Bangalore were extremely lucky to pick up New Zealand captain Sophie Devine for her base price of ₹50 lakh, they had shelled out ₹9 crore of their ₹12 crore purse on the first five players.

Bangalore were smart enough to purchase Heather Knight (₹40 lakh) and Dane van Niekerk (₹30 lakh) for comparatively low prices. However, one gets the feeling that they pushed too hard at the start and hence seemed handicapped towards the end of the WPL auction, even though they had funds of ₹10 lakh remaining.

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#5 Gujarat Giants (6/10)

Gujarat Giants made some interesting choices. Pic: BCCI

Gujarat Giants seemed to specifically target big overseas players at the WPL auction as opposed to Indian superstars. They purchased prolific Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner for ₹3.2 crore, Aussie keeper-batter Beth Mooney (₹2 crore), England batter Sophia Dunkley (₹60 lakh), another Aussie all-rounder Annabel Sutherland (₹70 lakh) and seasoned West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin for ₹60 lakh.

The Giants were extremely lucky with a couple of their overseas purchases, Dottin in particular. However, they were forced to compromise to an extent when it came to Indian players. Gujarat went for Harleen Deol (₹40 lakh), Sneh Rana (₹75 lakh) and Sushma Verma (₹60 lakh).

Gujarat Giants’ WPL auction was unique without a doubt. But it comes with its own risks. If their ploy pays off, it will be termed a masterstroke. Alternately, the strategy has the potential to backfire as well.

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