Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues rake in big money as 10 Indians get crore-plus deals
Mumbai: Smriti Mandhana was the top buy in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auctions as Royal Challengers Bangalore pipped Mumbai Indians in a bidding war to buy the India vice-captain for Rs 3.40 crore here Monday, Friday 13, a special report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
While 10 Indian players got crore-plus deals, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came much cheaper for Mumbai Indians — at nearly half the price of Mandhana at Rs 1.80 crore. Harmanpreet is also not the highest paid in her team as England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt got Rs 3.20 crore.
Harmanpreet was not even among the top-six Indian buys as the second costliest player from the country is all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who was bought by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 crore.
hard-hitting Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues were picked by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.20 crore, respectively. All-rounders Pooja Vastrakar and Richa Ghosh were sold for Rs 1.90 crore each to MI and RCB, respectively.
Yastika Bhatia, who opened the batting with Shafali Verma against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, went to Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.5 crore.
The two other Indians who got crore-plus deals were Renuka Thakur and Devika Vaidya, bought by RCB at Rs 1.5 crore and UP Warriorz at Rs 1.4 crore, respectively.
Delhi Capitals pulled off a coup by roping in one of the contemporary women’s cricket’s best leaders — Meg Lanning of Australia — for Rs 1.10 crore.
RCB teed off the buying spree, and xplained their choices and the price attached to it.
“Everyone knows Mandhana and Elysse Perry; we were pretty committed to the couple of people we wanted to get. We’re very happy to get such quality players. It’s a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Sophie Devine,” RCB director of cricket Mike Hesson said.
Mandhana, who watched the auction with her team cheering each bid, was ecstatic. “We have been watching the men’s auction. It is such a big moment for women to have an auction of this sort. The whole thing is exciting. RCB’s legacy is big, they have built a big fan-base. Hope we both can together build a big team,” Mandhana said.
UP-born Sharma looks to make her team and state proud. “We waited for this opportunity and since I am from UP, it is a great feeling. I want to contribute as much as possible for UP Warriorz,” she said.
One of the prominent picks during the first round of auction was Australia’s off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who was bought by Gautam Adani-owned Gujarat Giants for Rs 3.20 crore. Gardner and Sciver-Brunt are the two highest-paid overseas players.
Gujarat primarily bought foreign players and are yet to buy prominent India players except Harleen Deol for Rs 40 lakh.
Star Australian all-rounder Perry received a Rs 1.70 crore winning bid from RCB, who also got New Zealand skipper Devine at a base price of Rs 50 lakh. UP Warriorz also got England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone on board for Rs 1.80 crore.
87 players, including 30 from overseas, were picked up at the inaugural WPL auction. Only one player from the Associates was picked up — Tara Norris of the USA
Some of the big names to miss out are Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu and South African batter Laura Wolvaardt.
One of the prominent picks during the first round of auction was Australia’s off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who was bought by Gautam Adani-owned Gujarat Giants for Rs 3.20 crore. Gardner and Sciver-Brunt are the two highest-paid overseas players.
The five potential captains are Mandhana (RCB), Harmanpreet (MI), Lanning (DC), Beth Mooney (Gujarat Giants) and Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz).
WPL BIDDING
Smriti Mandhana goes for Rs 3.4 cr, Harmanpreet Kaur Rs 1.8 cr
- Smriti Mandhana stole the show at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction with the RCB buying the vice-captain for Rs 3.4 cr
- Harmanpreet Kaur, skipper, was picked by Mumbai Indians at nearly half the price at Rs 1.8 cr
- Deepti Sharma, all-rounder, 2nd costliest player from India, bought by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 cr
- Jemimah Rodrigues, star of T20 WC opener, goes for Rs 2.2 cr
- Shafali Verma, hard-hitter, picked by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 cr
- Pooja Vastrakar, all-rounder, bought by MI for Rs 1.9 cr
- Richa Ghosh by RCB for Rs 1.9 cr
HOW THE TEAMS LOOK
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Erin Burns, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja, Asha Shobana, Heather Knight, Dane van Niekerk, Preeti Bose, Poonam Khemnar, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Sahana Pawar
Mumbai Indians
Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Heather Graham, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Dhara Gujjar, Saika Ishaque, Hayley Matthews, Chloe Tryon, Humaira Kazi, Priyanka Bala, Sonam Yadav, Jintamani Kalita, Neelam Bisht
UP Warriorz
Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Parshavi Chopra, Shweta Sehrawat, S Yashasri, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Devika Vaidya, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Simran Shaikh
Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophia Dunkley, Annabel Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Sneh Rana, S Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, D Hemalatha, Tanuja Kanwar, Monica Patel, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia, Shabnam MD
Delhi Capitals
Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Jasia Akther, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia, Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mondal
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