Women’s Premier League 2023 cricket: RCB’s Smriti Mandhana top earner - who got what and full squads
There are five teams in the WPL. A total of 87 players were bought during the inaugural auction. Get full WPL 2023 squads and sold players list.
Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner and England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt landed big contracts at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction held in Mumbai on Monday.
A total of 448 cricketers went under the hammer in the inaugural WPL auction. The WPL is the women’s equivalent of the Indian Premier League (IPL) - India’s top franchisee-based T20 men’s cricket competition, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Women’s Premier League 2023 teams
There are five teams in the WPL:
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Mumbai Indians (MI)
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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
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Gujarat Giants (GG)
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UP Warriorz (UPW)
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Delhi Capitals (DC)
Each team had a budget of INR 12 crore to assemble a WPL 2023 squad of 15 to 18 players, including a maximum of six overseas cricketers.
Indian left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana was the first buy of the WPL player auction and also the most expensive one. Royal Challengers Bangalore splurged INR 3.4 crore after an intense bidding war with Mumbai Indians. INR 1 crore roughly equals USD 121,000 while INR 1 lac is around USD 1,200.
RCB also acquired the services of all-rounders Sophie Devine of New Zealand and Ellyse Perry of Australia.
The big-ticket tournament, popularly referred to as the Women’s IPL, will see the Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur play for Mumbai Indians. She was acquired for INR 1.8 crore by MI.
The biggest buy for Mumbai Indians, however, was England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, who raked in INR 3.2 crore to become the joint most expensive overseas player of the inaugural tournament.
Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner, the current No. 1 T20I all-rounder of the world, also commanded a price of INR 3.2 crore from Gujarat Giants.
Indian teenager Shafali Verma, who led the nation to the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup title last month in South Africa, will don the Delhi Capitals jersey. The 19-year-old was one of the most expensive players, raking in INR 2 crore.
Meanwhile, Deepti Sharma, the second-ranked T20I all-rounder, joined UP Warriorz for a sum of INR 2.6 crore.
Sophie Ecclestone, the No. 1 ranked bowler in both T20I and ODI cricket, was also signed by UP Warriorz for INR 1.8 crore.
The auction concluded with 87 players being signed by the five teams.
The first WPL season will be held from March 4 to 26, with two venues in Mumbai, Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium, hosting all 22 matches.