A total of 120 names will go under the hammer to fill all 19 places at Sunday’s Women’s Premier League (WPL) mini auction.
Among the 29 overseas players, England captain Heather Knight, West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin and South Africa’s Lizelle Lee opted for the highest reserve price of ₹50 lakh.
READ ALSO | Australia’s knockout shows that India runs the risk of learning non-stop and failing to pass important tests
Other notable names include Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier from England, Darcie Brown and Lauren Cheatle from Australia and Nadine de Klerk from South Africa – all in the £30 lakh bracket.
In the list of 91 Indians, Sneh Rana (₹30 lakh), Poonam Yadav (30), Shubha Satheesh (30), Mansi Joshi (30) and Tejal Hasabnis (30) are expected to attract much interest.
Recent domestic cricketers like 16-year-old G. Kamalini, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar and Nandini Kashyap may attract attention.
Delhi’s Anshu Nagar, the 13-year-old left-arm seamer who caused a ruckus in the Delhi Women’s Premier League three months ago, is also in the mix.
READ ALSO | WPL Auction 2025: Top five Indian players to watch out for
READ ALSO | WPL 2025 auction: top five foreign players to watch out for
For the third edition, which will be held in early 2025, franchises will have a total allocation of ₹ 15 crore, up from ₹ 13.5 crore last year. Of this, Gujarat Giants, the bottom tier resident in both 2023 and 2024, has the largest purse of ₹4.4 crore. Two-time runners-up Delhi Capitals have the least amount to spend (₹2.5 crore).
Unlike the IPL, WPL teams can have as many as five foreign players in the playing XI, provided one of them is from an associate country. Samaira Dharnidharka and Theertha Satish from the United Arab Emirates and Sarah Bryce from Scotland could fill that spot for the teams.
It will be particularly interesting to see how the Giants rebuild their bowling package after the release of Sneh Rana, Lei Tahuhu, Kathryn Bryce and Cheatle. Mumbai may look to strengthen their middle order to help Harmanpreet Kaur and Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the only team with no overseas vacancies, and the Capitals seem more or less settled, while UP Warriorz will be hoping for a quality replacement for Bell and some solid Indian batsmen.
