The Women’s Premier League player auction happened in Mumbai on February 13. Smriti Mandhana was the first player to be auctioned and the most expensive player. Royal Challengers Bangalore bought her for INR 3.4 crores, almost seven times her base price. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ash Gardner were the most expensive foreign players, bought for INR 3.2 crore each by Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, respectively.
BIDDING WAR BETWEEN MI AND RCB FOR SMRITI
RCB won the bidding war against Mumbai Indians to sign Smriti Mandhana at INR 3.4 crores. They also added Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine to their roster. They spent INR 1.5 crore on Renuka Thakur and INR 1.9 crore on Richa Ghosh. Mumbai Indians signed Harmanpreet Kaur for INR 1.8 crore while Delhi Capitals signed Jemimah Rodrigues for INR 2.2 crore. They also signed Meg Lanning for INR 1.1 crore and Shafali Verma for INR 2 crore.
UP Warriorz purchased all-rounder Deepti Sharma for INR 2.6 crores, making her the second most expensive Indian. Ash Gardner caused a bidding war between Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz. Gujarat Giants joined in to win the number one T20I allrounder. Beth Mooney received an INR 2 crore paycheque, and Sophia Dunkley was the third pick at INR 60 lakh.
Kicking off the Warriorz’s purchases, Sophie Ecclestone, the top-ranked T20I bowler, was the first Englishwoman to go under the hammer. She secured an INR 1.8 crore deal from the team. The Lucknow-based side added Tahlia McGrath to their foreign player roster for INR 1.4 crore. Additionally, they signed South Africa pacer Shabnim Ismail for INR 1 crore.
Indian wicketkeepers were in demand as RCB signed Richa Ghosh for INR 1.9 crore, while MI acquired Yastika Bhatia for INR 1.5 crore. Warriorz made a steal by getting Alyssa Healy for INR 70 lakh. A total of 87 players were sold, of which only one was from an associate nation. Delhi Capitals are now the only team eligible to make use of the five foreign-player allowances.
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