February 13 will go down as one of the biggest days in the history of cricket as it kicked off a new chapter in women’s cricket with the maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction being held in Mumbai. Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Harmanpreet Kaur, Sophie Ecclestone, Alyssa Healy were some of the top players who entered the auction. Smriti Mandhana kicked off the proceedings for the WPL auction in style as she was the first player up for grabs.
Mandhana, is also a captaincy material, was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a whopping Rs 3.40 crore. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was the second player in the list, was bought by Mumbai Indians (MI). Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner also triggered a bidding war and was bought by Gujarat Giants (GG) for Rs 3.2 crore emerging as the second-most expensive player from the first set. Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma was sold to UP Warriorz for Rs 2.60 crore.
Most expensive players at WPL auction
1) Smriti Mandhana (Rs 3.40 cr to RCB)
2) Ashleigh Gardner (Rs 3.20 cr to GG) & Natalie Sciver (Rs 3.20 cr to MI)
3) Deepti Sharma (Rs 2.60 cr to UP Warriorz)
4) Jemimah Rodrigues (Rs 2.20 cr to DC)
5) Beth Mooney (Rs 2.00 cr to Gujarat Giants) & Shafali Verma (Rs 2.00 cr to Delhi Capitals)
6) Pooja Vastrakasr (Rs 1.9o cr to MI) & Richa Ghosh (Rs 1.90 cr to RCB)
7) Sophie Ecclestone (Rs 1.8 cr to UP Warriorz) & Harmanpreet Kaur (Rs 1.80 cr to MI)
8) Elysse Perry (Rs 1.70 cr to RCB)
9) Yastika Bhatia (Rs 1.5 cr to MI) & Renuka Thakur (Rs 1.5 cr to RCB) & Marizanne Kapp (Rs 1.5 cr to DC)
10) Tahila McGrath (Rs 1.4 cr to UP Warriorz)