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The auction for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) season saw India batter Smriti Mandhana grabbing the headlines.
The left-handed opener, who is popular for her stylish stroke play, was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ₹3.40 crore. Her auction triggered a bidding war between Mumbai Indians (MI) and RCB. Listed under the base price of ₹50 lakh, Mumbai and Bangalore tussled till her value rose to 3 crore before things dried down a bit. Two more bidding rounds before auctioneer Mallika Sagar finally closed it, with RCB leading at ₹3.40 crore.
Team India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the second player in the marquee set 1, was bought by Nita Ambani-owned MI for ₹1.8 crore. Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner also triggered a bidding war and was sold to Gujarat Giants for ₹3.2 crore, making her the second-most expensive player of the 2023 WPL season.
Top-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who took India over the finish line in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, was picked by Delhi Capitals for ₹2.20 crore.
Meanwhile, the England duo of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone went to MI and UP Warriorz for ₹3.2 cr and ₹1.8 cr, respectively.
Most expensive players at WPL Auction 2023:
- Smriti Mandhana (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Rs 3.4 cr
- Ashleigh Gardner (Gujarat Giants): Rs 3.2 cr
- Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians): Rs 3.2 cr
- Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz): Rs 2.6 cr
- Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals): Rs 2.2 cr
- Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants): Rs 2 cr
- Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals): Rs 2 cr
- Pooja Vastrakar (Mumbai Indians): Rs 1.9 cr
- Richa Ghosh (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Rs 1.9 cr
- Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians): Rs 1.8 cr
- Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz): Rs 1.8 cr
The WPL 2023 is scheduled to take place in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. A total of 22 matches will be played at the two venues – Brabourne Stadium and D.Y. Patil Stadium.
