Indian national team players found the going tough while the uncapped ones struck gold in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) mini auction at the ITC Gardenia here on Sunday.
Not one among Sneh Rana, Poonam Yadav, Shubha Satheesh, Mansi Joshi and Tejal Hasabnis found an enthusiastic bidder even as the likes of Simran Shaikh, G. Kamalini and Prema Rawat saw gold coins rain.
All-rounder Simran received the highest bid of ₹1.90 crore (base price ₹10 lakh) from Gujarat Giants despite going largely unnoticed in her stint with UP Warriorz in 2023 and being unsold last year.
“We were looking at two power-hitters and we got them both,” said Michael Klinger, head coach of Giants which added West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin to the line-up for ₹1.70 crore. “We are not too worried about the price tag. Skills matter,” he declared. Giants also secured Danielle Gibson and Prakashika Naik to shore up the bowling.
Teenager G. Kamalini was bought by Mumbai Indians for ₹1.60 crore. The 16-year-old from Tamil Nadu, who zoomed up from ₹10 lakh, was the second-highest scorer in the U-19 Women’s T20 Trophy (311 runs at SR: 123.90) that Tamil Nadu won in October.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, captained by the highest-paid player in WPL (Smriti Mandhana, ₹3.40 crore), welcomed Prema Rawat for ₹1.20 crore. The 23-year-old wrist-spinner, who attracted eyeballs during the inaugural Uttarakhand Premier League in August, will join forces with India tweakers Asha Sobhana and Shreyanka Patil.
“She has great control for a wrist-spinner,” said RCB head coach Luke Williams. “Looking at how spinners performed last year, adding a spin bowler to our arsenal was ideal.”
Interestingly, Delhi Capitals were involved in bidding wars for Simran, Kamalini and Prema. It eventually signed Nandini Kashyap – now part of the India set-up – for ₹10 lakh, a deal Capitals’ director of cricket Saurav Ganguly felt was a steal. The 22-year-old was the third-highest scorer in the 2024 Senior Women’s T20 Trophy (247 runs at SR: 125.38).
“We needed one of Nandini, Kamalini or Simran,” said the former India skipper. “But we didn’t expect to get Nandini for that price. She has the best record and we probably got the best [of the three],” opined Ganguly, who also seemed chuffed at getting Scotland’s Sarah Bryce (₹10 lakh).
Among notable overseas talents, there were no takers for England’s Heather Knight, Maia Bouchier and Lauren Bell, Australia’s Darcie Brown and Lauren Cheatle, and South Africa’s Lizelle Lee. But Aussie leg-spinner Alana King and South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk found sanctuaries in UP and Mumbai.
Published – December 15, 2024 08:58 pm IST
