Uncapped batter Simran Shaikh expressed her desire to meet India stalwart Virat Kohli and outlined her goal to represent the Indian national team. Simran made the headlines after Gujarat Giants broke the bank in the recent Women’s Premier League 2025 auction. The franchise roped in Simran for Rs 1.9 crore. She also became the most expensive buy of the afternoon on Sunday. The young batter revealed that Virat is her favourite player and her goal is to represent India, for which she is making all the efforts.

“My dream is to meet Virat Kohli once. I just want a jersey of India and that is why I am making all these efforts,” Simran told ANI.

Delhi Capitals and the Gujarat-based franchise came into the bidding war for the uncapped batter. Her base price was Rs 5 lakh and made her way to the Giants with a whopping amount of Rs 1.9 crore.

In the inaugural season of the tournament, Simran played for the Gujarat-based franchise and featured in nine games.

Simran feels it is her responsibility to contribute to the franchise and added, “I thank the GG (Gujarat Giants) family. After getting such a huge amount, it’s now my responsibility to perform for them. I thank my parents because there is not much support for such things in my community, but they always supported me.”

Reflecting on the auction, head coach Michael Klinger said the team’s priority was to acquire players who could make an impact in the playing eleven and Simran is a valuable addition to the team.

“Simran Shaikh is another valuable addition to the team. She brings a lot of power and has an impressive strike rate. There are only a handful of players in women’s cricket who can do that. I think she will create healthy competition among the Indian batters for a spot in the team, which is exactly what you want in a squad,” Klinger noted.

Gujarat Giants full squad for WPL 2025: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam Shakil, Tanuja Kanwer, Phoebe Litchfield, Meghna Singh, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Mannat Kashyap, Bharti Fulmali, Sayali Satghare, Deandra Dottin, Simran Shaikh, Danielle Gibson, and Prakashika Naik.

As expected, all-rounders were in demand at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 auction in Bengaluru on Sunday. While West Indies Deandra Dottin was the costliest overseas buy at Rs 1.7 crore, uncapped Indian all-rounder Simran Shaikh was the most expensive player at Sunday’s auction, fetching Rs 1.9 crore. Both Dottin and Shaikh were sold to the Gujarat Giants. While G Kamalini, 16, got a jaw-dropping deal of Rs 1.6 crore, the highlight of the even was Gujarat’s bid for Shaikh.

Who is Simran Shaikh?

Simran Banu Shaikh, commonly known as Simran Shaikh, was born on January 12, 2002 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She was part of the UP Warriorz squad in the inaugural edition in 2022, but was released ahead of the next season owning to poor performance. The 22-year-old went unsold last season. 

Simran’s father is an electrician. She has four sisters and five brothers. She first picked up cricket at the age of 15, playing with boys in her localty of Dharavi, Mumbai. However, Simran’s cricketing journey started after she joined the United Club.

After impressing in local leagues, Simran was selected in Mumbai’s U19 women’s team. Simran, 22, a middle-order batter, played a few matches for UP Warriorz during the 2023 WPL season. She has made 176 runs in 11 matches for Mumbai at 22 with a strike rate of 100.57 during the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy in October-November this year.

All-rounder Dottin, who is currently in India with the West Indies team for the white-ball series, was the costliest among overseas players and was bought by the Giants for the second time in the auction.

Dottin, 33, a veteran of 132 WT20Is, was one of the three players with base price of Rs 50 lakh and saw UP Warriorz too make a wholehearted bid for her before Gujarat Giants upped the amount.

Dottin was signed by Gujarat Giants for Rs 60 lakh ahead of WPL 2023, but could not play the tournament as the franchise failed to obtain a medical certificate before the season. Dottin had refuted the claims made by the franchise.

Gujarat Giants coach Michael Klinger, speaking to the broadcaster, said that both Dottin and Simran were on their radar for quite some time.

“We were targeting Dottin and Simran. They bring in power and batting at a high strike rate. That often creates a winning culture, so I’m really excited for our first two picks,” said Klinger.

(With PTI Inputs)