On December 9 the second-season auction for Tata Women's Premier League (WPL) was held in Mumbai. Out of the 165-player pool, Kashvee Gautam and Annabel Sutherland came on top, receiving a 2 Crore deal each from Gujrat Giants and Delhi Capitals respectively. Here’s all that you need to know about the auction.
The Tata Women's Premier League (WPL), is all set to be back in 2024. A Twenty20 cricket franchise in India, WPL’s first season was played in March 2023, with Mumbai Indians winning the inaugural title. This mega cricket T20 tournament is controlled and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
What is WPL: Quick Format Recap
WPL so far has five teams in the league, and a total of 22 matches are played which includes the championship as well. In the previous year, all the games were played in two venues, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. In the round-robin phase, all five teams compete against each other twice, for a total of eight games per team and twenty league games. The winning team advances easily to the championship game, while the runners-up and third-place teams compete in an elimination round to determine the second finalist.
WPL 2024 Auction
On December 9, 2023, in Mumbai, the Tata Women's Premier League (WPL) held its much-awaited second-season auction. The auction was available to watch on Sports 18 Network and the live streaming of the WPL 2024 auction was also available on Jio Cinema.
During the auction, 165 cricket players were put under the hammer. Of the 165 players, 61 are overseas players of which 15 are from associate nations, and 104 are Indians. There are 109 uncapped players and 56 capped players overall. In all, five playing teams kept 60 players, including 21 international cricketers, while 29 players were cut from their current squads.
In addition to the remaining funds from the previous auction and player releases, each of the five teams had access to an extra purse of INR 1.5 crore. The funds from the releases had been added to the new purse of INR 1.5 crore, along with the remaining amount from the previous auction.
Let’s meet the top 5 women cricketers who topped the auction during the Tata Women's Premier League (WPL) Auction 2024.
Kashvee Gautam (2 Crores, GG)
Kashvee Gautam is a phenomenal Indian cricketer. At the WPL 2024 Auctions, Kashvee, who is just 20 years old, created history by becoming the most expensive uncapped player in India after the Gujarat Giants paid a whopping amount of Rs 2 crore for her gameplay. Additionally, on November 29, she was selected for the three-match Twenty20 International series against England with the 16-member India A women's team.
In 2020, Kashvee made her debut in the BCCI Women's U-19 One Day Tournament in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, by taking all ten wickets against Arunachal Pradesh. In 2020, she participated in the Women's T20 Challenge as a member of the Trailblazers. She secured 112 runs for Chandigarh in the BCCI Senior Women T20 Trophy in 2023, taking 12 wickets.
Annabel Sutherland (2 Crores, DC)
Australian cricket player Annabel Sutherland is an all-rounder for the national team. At the age of 15, she made her Big Bash debut for the Melbourne Renegades, becoming the youngest player to feature at such a young age. She has also participated in cricket matches for the Australian under-15 and under-19 squads.
The Gujarat Giants (GG) paid 70 lakhs to sign Annabel Sutherland during the 2023 WPL season. However, the Delhi Capitals paid Rs 2 crore to acquire Annabel Sutherland in the 2024 WPL auction which made her the second highest paid player during this auction.
Vrinda Dinesh (1.3 Crores, UPW)
Vrinda Dinesh is a 22-year-old talented cricketer from India. She is a right-hand batter and right-arm leg break bowler. She has played in several matches for India A Women. Vrinda gained recognition when she was picked up by the UP Warriorz for a whopping Rs 1.3 crore at the WPL auction ahead of the second season of WPL 24. She’s a talented player and it will be exciting to see her performance in the upcoming matches.
Shabnim Ismail (1.2 Crores, MI)
Shabnim Ismail, a South African cricketer, made her debut for the national women's team in January 2007. She is South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker in One Day International and Twenty20 International formats and is also a right-arm fast bowler. She has established herself as one of the world's fastest female bowlers, with a top-recorded speed of 128 km/h (80 mph). Since the ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament's launch in 2009, she has participated in every event. Shabnim Ismail was acquired by the Mumbai Indians in the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL) auction for Rs. 1.2 Crore.
Phoebe Litchfield (1 Crore, GG)
Phoebe Litchfield is an Australian cricketer who plays as a left-handed batter and occasional right-arm leg break bowler. She is a left-handed batter and a right-arm leg-break bowler.
She made her debut for the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) at the age of 16 and scored 26 runs off 22 balls. In her second match for the Thunder, she became the youngest player to make a half-century in the WBBL. Phoebe was bought by the Gujarat Giants at an exceeding amount of Rs 1 crore which made her to the list of top 5 players auctioned at WPL 24 Auctions.
India is waiting eagerly to watch women cricketers from across the world showcase their superb abilities in WPL 2024. Stay tuned with Women Entrepreneur India to bring to all the action and information.
