The first-ever Women Premier League’s auction is all set to take place on Monday (February 13). As the women cricketers fight for their countries at the T20 World Cup 2023, the WPL 2023 will take place in India. As per the latest update from BCCI, the auction for a total of 409 players will take place on Monday. Out of these, 269 players are Indians and 179 are overseas players (including 19 players from the Associate Nations). Interestingly, it is worth noting that a total of 1525 players had registered for the WPL auction in Mumbai today.
The organizers will hold the WPL in Mumbai from March 4th to 26th. A total of 22 matches will take place with the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium serving as the venues for the prestigious tournament.
LIVE UPDATES OF THE WPL AUCTION 2023
A total of five WPL teams will play against each other in the inaugural Women’s Premier League 2023 season. The teams are Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Mumbai Indians. Among the overseas players, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Elysse Perry, Nat Sciver, Megan Schutt, and Deandra Dottin are some of the top names who are likely to receive a substantial pay. Â The five teams will be bidding for 90 players.
Smriti Mandhana was the first player to be sold and is still the priciest purchase so far, as she was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ₹3.4 crore. RCB made a big splash in the initial bidding round by acquiring Australian and New Zealand stars Ellyse Perry and Sophie Devine along with Mandhana. On the other hand, UP Warriorz bought Sophie Ecclestone, and the Gujarat Giants bought Ash Gardner, who became the second most expensive player, for ₹3.2 crore.
However, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came much cheaper for Mumbai Indians at nearly half the price of Mandhana at Rs 1.80 crore. Delhi Capitals get their first player of the auction as they successfully bid for Jemimah Rodrigues at Rs 2.2 crore. Delhi Capitals successfully bid for Indian opener and U-19 T20 World Cup winning captain Shafali Verma for Rs 2 crore.