WPL Auction:- 3 Similarities between RCB's men and women teams

The auction of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) was held on Monday, February 13, in Mumbai.

A total of 87 players were sold as Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana emerged as the most expensive player after being purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹3.4 crores. Several Indian stars such as captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Shefali Verma, Deepti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues, among others, also got lucrative deals.

Among the foreigners, Australia's Ashleigh Gardner and England's Natalie Sciver-Brunt attracted the highest bids.

RCB, the perennial underachievers of the IPL, are yet to get their hands on the much-coveted IPL trophy. Over the years, the franchise has been blessed to have some of the best players in the world playing for them, resulting in an extremely loyal fanbase. Despite never winning the trophy, RCB has made it to three finals and entered the Playoffs on eight different occasions. In the last three seasons too, RCB is the only team to have made it to the Playoffs on all occasions.

RCB purchased the Bangalore WPL team for a whopping ₹901 crores and purchased a total of 18 players in the inaugural WPL Auction.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women full squad - Smriti Mandhana (INR 3.4 crore), Sophie Devine (INR 50 lakh), Ellyse Perry (INR 1.7 crore), Renuka Singh (INR 1.5 crore), Richa Ghosh (INR 1.9 crore), Erin Burns (INR 30 lakh), Disha Kasat (INR 10 lakh), Indrani Roy (INR 10 lakh), Shreyanka Patil (INR 10 lakh), Kanika Ahuja (35 lakh), Asha Shobana (INR 10 lakh), Heather Knight (INR 40 lakh), Dane van Niekerk (INR 30 lakh), Priti Bose (INR 30 lakh), Poonam Khemnar (INR 10 lakh), Komal Zanzad (INR 25 lakh), Megan Schutt (INR 40 lakh), Sahana Pawar (INR 10 lakh)

On that note, let us discuss the three similarities between the Men's and the Women's RCB teams.

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#1 Star Indian Opener - Virat Kohli (IPL) and Smriti Mandhana (WPL)

Both the men's and women's RCB line-ups will feature a star Indian opener.

Virat Kohli has been the mainstay of the RCB batting line-up for a number of years. Last season, the Indian star was seen opening alongside Faf Du Plessis.

Like 'King Kohli', Smriti Mandhana is one of the top cricketers in the world and a world-class opening batter. Another similarity is that Mandhana might be named the captain of RCB Women, a position which Kohli has held for several years for the men's team in the IPL.

Coincidentally, the two players don the No. 18 on their backs too.

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#2 Indian Keeper-Finisher - Dinesh Karthik (IPL) and Richa Ghosh (WPL)

RCB purchased Richa Ghosh at the auction to play the role of a finisher and wicket-keeper in the WPL. Similarly, RCB has Dinesh Karthik for the same role in the IPL. Thus, the Bangalore franchise has picked two of the best Indian players for this role from their respective circuits.

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#3 World-class Australian all-rounder - Glenn Maxwell (IPL) and Ellyse Perry (WPL)

RCB bought one of the most decorated cricketers in Ellyse Perry. An all-rounder equivalent to Jacques Kallis in women's cricket, she is set to play a massive role in RCB's campaign in the WPL.

Similarly, Glenn Maxwell plays the role of an overseas all-rounder in the IPL. While Maxwell seldom bowls his full quota of four overs, Perry will likely be the ace speedster with the ball and the perfect aggressor for RCB in the middle-overs as well.

Can you think of any other similarities between the two units? Let us know in the comments section below.