WPL 2023 Players' Auction: Talking Points of the Mega Event - 87 Players Sold, Focus on All-rounders

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 players’ auction was exciting as expected. After all, it was a new chapter added to the history of Indian cricket. Back in 2008, there was a huge buzz when male cricketers from across the world went under the hammer, thus marking the beginning of the Indian Premier League. More than a decade later, the women cricketers, both capped and uncapped, found a reason to be merrier when they were picked up by five different franchises that will participate in the inaugural edition of the WPL.

A total of 87 players, including Indian and overseas, found buyers at the auctions. The franchises collectively spent an amount of Rs 59.5 crore to constitute a bunch of strong players to compete in India’s first-ever full-fledged women’s T20 league.

Here are the takeaways from the event that forced us to remain glued to our screens for more than six hours.

Total Players Sold: 87

Total Money Spent: Rs 59.5 crore

Overseas Players: 30

Purse remaining:

MI – Nil

UP Warriorz – Nil

RCB – Rs 10 lakh

DC – Rs 35 lakh

GG – Rs 5 lakh

The Top Buys

As many as 20 cricketers bagged deals worth Rs 1 crore and more. Half of them are Indian and the rest are foreigners.

With a price tag of Rs 3.4 crore, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana joins the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp and becomes the most expensive player of the auction. She was also the first player to be sold at the WPL Auction on Monday in Mumbai.

Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner turned out to be the most expensive overseas player at the WPL 2023 players’ auction. She was roped in by Gujarat Giants for a heft sum of Rs 3.2 crore.

Meanwhile, Renuka Singh became the most-expensive bowler, fetching a deal of Rs 1.5 crore from the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Australia’s Beth Mooney joins Gujarat Giants with a price tag of Rs 2 crore as the costliest wicketkeeper.

19-year-old Shafali Verma joined Delhi Capitals with a price tag of Rs 2 crore, becoming the youngest player with the biggest deal. Richa Ghosh follows her, who was picked by the RCB for Rs 1.9 crore.

All-rounders were the favourites

If we categorise all the 87 sold players, we will find that there are 46 all-rounders, 14 pure batters, 17 pure bowlers (including pacers and spinners) and 10 wicketkeepers. The equation simply shows that no matter its IPL or WPL, the franchises love to have the all-rounder onboard as they possess the capability of performing both ways.

Big names going unsold

Since only 87 players managed to attract buyers at the action, the list of players going unsold is quite long. It has some big names like England’s Dani Wyatt and Katherine Brunt, Australia’s Alana King and Amanda Jade Wellington, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor.

Also, some of the capped Indian players going unsold is equally surprising. The likes of Meghana Singh, Priya Punia, Punam Raut and Anuja Patil have represented India at the highest level but failed to attract any buyers at the auction.

J&K making its presence felt

After IPL, the Women’s Premier League also finds a player from the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Jasia Akhtar became the first cricketer from Kashmir to be picked in the WPL auction. Born in Shopian, the 34-year-old was roped in by Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 lakh.

Some last-minute buys – cheaper but effective

The accelerated round of the auction always aids the franchises with some smart buys. The same was the case in the WPL as well. Here are some of the cheaper but more effective buys by the franchises:

Kiran Navgire – 30L – UP Warriorz

S Meghana – 30 L – Gujarat Giants

Mansi Joshi – 30 L – Gujarat Giants

Amanjot Kaur – 50 L – MI

D Hemalatha – 30 L – Gujarat Giants

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