Cricket is considered a religion in India. Cricketing events such as Indian Premier League (IPL), Test Matches, ODIs, and T20 World Cup, are celebrated like festivals across the country. Although the sport was largely focused on men’s cricket, times are changing and women’s cricketing events have begun to garner increased popularity of late.
One shining example of women’s cricket’s rise in the WIPL which was later renamed to WPL, Women's Premier League. One of the most highly anticipated cricketing events, WPL is all set to kickstart in Mumbai this year. The inaugural match will begin on March 4 and end on 26 March.
The WPL is a franchise league of Women's T20 cricket tournaments. It is an ideal platform where Indian women's cricket players can showcase their talents. Run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the tournament will carry 5 different franchises. The teams will compete in a Double Round Robin style which is the format of Men's IPL.
The finalized teams are Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, UP Warriors, and Gujarat Giants.
The recently held auction, held on 13th February 2023 listed the players and their teams. The auction was held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai where out of 448 players, 87 players were sold through 10 rounds of auctions with three rounds of rapid bidding.
The auction showed the true potential that women’s cricket holds as players bagged lucrative offers. These are 10 of the most expensive players at the WPL auction and all that you need to know about them.
Smriti Mandhana (RCB Rs. 3.4cr)
Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive Indian player to be bought at the inaugural auction of the Women's Premier League. She was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for an amount of Rs. 3.4 crore.
Smriti is an Indian-origin female cricketer who plays for the Indian Women's National Team. One of the most popular faces in Indian women’s cricket, she is a left-handed opener who can also bowl right-arm medium pace. She was awarded the Best Women's International Cricketer of the Year in 2018 by BCCI. She was also honored with the 'Arjuna Award'.
Ashleigh Gardner (GG Rs. 3.20cr)
An all-rounder for the National Women's Team, Ashleigh Gardner was sold at an amount of Rs. 3.20 Crore to the Gujarat Giants.
Ashleigh is an Australian Cricketer who plays for New South Wales in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL), the Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), and also for the Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League.
She is a right-handed batter and also a right-arm off-spinner in WPL. She has been honored with many awards for her outstanding performance in her respective teams. She bagged three World Championships, Four National Titles, and also the Belinda Clark Award.
Natalie Sciver (MI Rs. 3.20cr)
The first cricketer to take a hat-trick in a Women's Twenty20 International match for England, Natalie Ruth Sciver-Brunt has been bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 3.20 crore.
Natalie received the opportunity to lead the England team for the first time in International Cricket when Captain Heather Knight was withdrawn from the third WT20I match against New Zealand due to an injury. She also captained team England for their home WT20I series on 6 September 2022, against India when Heather was not present.
Deepti Sharma (UP Warriors Rs. 2.60cr)
Deepti Bhagwan Sharma is an all-rounder who bowls right-arm off the break and bats left-handed. She has been selected to play for the UP Warriors franchise and has been sold out of Rs. 2.60 crores.
Deepti is an Indian player who plays for India, Bengal, Phoenix, and Birmingham. She has currently ranked as the fourth-best all-rounder by the ICC Cricket Rankings. In addition to that, she is also the third-highest individual scorer in ODIs.
Jemimah Rodrigues (DC Rs. 2.20cr)
Indian cricket player Jemimah Jessica Rodrigues has been selected for Delhi Capitals at a sum of Rs. 2.20 crore.
Initially, Jemimah was a hockey player for the Under-17 Maharashtra team. She is also an all-rounder for the Mumbai Womens Cricket Team. She received the Jagmohan Dalmiya Award for Best Domestic Junior Women's Cricketer which was presented by former Indian captain MS Dhoni at Jharkhand.
Beth Mooney (GG Rs. 2cr)
Australian professional cricketer Bethany Louise Mooney will be playing for Gujarat Giants in WPL. She has been bought for an amount of Rs. 2.00 crore by GG at the auction.
Beth is a batter who plays in all three formats of the game for the National Cricket Team. She also participates as a wicketkeeper batter for Perth Scorchers and Western Australia at the domestic level. She also grabbed the title of the World’s best batter in Women's T20 International (WT20I) cricket in 2020.
Shafali Verma (DC Rs. 2cr)
Indian cricketer Shafali Verma has been bought by the Delhi Capitals for a sum of Rs. 2.00 crore. She is one of the youngest players on the Women's Cricket Team.
Shafali made history at the age of 15 when she participated in India's Women's T20 International match in 2019. She represented all three international cricket formats as the youngest player, male or female in 2021. She is also referred to as the youngest female player to complete her 1000 runs in T20 Internationals on October 8, 2022.
Pooja Vastrakar (MI Rs. 1.9cr)
Pooja Vastrakar is an Indian-origin cricket player who presently performs for Madhya Pradesh and India both. Pooja has been purchased by the Mumbai Indians for an amount of Rs. 1.9 crore.
She is an all-rounder who can bat right-handed and bowls right-arm medium fast. She played her first International match for India against South Africa in 2018.
Richa Ghosh (RCB Rs. 1.90cr)
Richa Ghosh, a cricket player from India is a wicketkeeper and batter who has been signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 1.90 crores in the bidding.
She is a young female cricketer who was selected for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup at the age of 16. She played in a championship match against Australia in the Tri-Series, which was her first WT20I match. She also played her debut for Women's One Day International (WODI) against Australia in 2021.
Harmanpreet Kaur (MI Rs. 1.80cr)
The Captain of the Indian Women's National Cricket Team, Harmanpreet Kaur is the second female cricketer to be auctioned by Mumbai Indians for an amount of 1.80 crores.
She is an all-rounder player for the Indian Women's Cricket team, as she made history by scoring a Century in the Women's T20 International match in 2018. She is the first Indian cricketer to participate in 100 International Twenty20 matches in October 2019 during the series against South Africa. Harmanpreet was also honored with Arjuna Award for Cricket by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2017.
