The player auction for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League was held in Mumbai on Monday and it didn’t disappoint, with a number of cricketers bagging substantial bids and grabbing headlines.

India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player on the day as Royal Challengers Bangalore acquired her for an impressive Rs 3.4 crore. Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner and England’s Natialie Sciver-Brunt were the most expensive overseas picks, going to Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians respectively for Rs 3.2 crore each.

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WPL 2023 auction: From Smriti Mandhana to Jemimah Rodrigues – top 10 most expensive picks

A total of 87 players were signed up in the auction by the five franchises, with 57 of them being Indian and 30 overseas. Unsurprisingly, the all-conquering Australian side saw the most picks with 14 in total, followed by England on 7.

Here’s a look at the number of players signed and funds remaining for each franchise at the end of the auction:

Delhi Capitals: Funds Remaining Rs 35,00,000, Overseas Players 6, Total Players 18   

Gujarat Giants: Funds Remaining Rs 5,00,000, Overseas Players 6, Total Players 18  

Mumbai Indians: Funds Remaining 0, Overseas Players 6, Total Players 17

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Funds Remaining Rs 10,00,000, Overseas Players 6, Total Players 18   

UP Warriorz: Funds Remaining 0, Overseas Players 6, Total Players 16

Now, let’s take a look at the full list of players signed by the five teams:

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Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals started cautiously and took their time to get in on the action. But once they did, they made a number of impressive signings. Batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who played a starring role in India’s opening win against Pakistan at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, was their biggest buy at Rs 2.2 crore. In Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey and Poonam Yadav, they got four more quality Indian internationals. While South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp, Australia’s Meg Lanning and more added overseas firepower. Lanning would be expected to lead a quite balanced side.

All players recruited by Delhi Capitals

Player name  Reserve Price Rs Lakh  Bid (In Rs Lakh)  Times over base price  Country  State Association  Age  Specialism  C/U/A 
Jemimah Rodrigues  50  220  4.40  India  MCA  22  Batter  Capped 
Shafali Verma  50  200  4.00  India  HCA  19  Batter  Capped 
Marizanne Kapp  40  150  3.75  South Africa  33  All-rounder  Capped 
Meg Lanning  50  110  2.20  Australia  30  Batter  Capped 
Alice Capsey  30  75  2.50  England  18  All-rounder  Capped 
Shikha Pandey  40  60  1.50  India  GCA  33  All-rounder  Capped 
Jess Jonassen  50  50  1.00  Australia  30  All-rounder  Capped 
Laura Harris  10  45  4.50  Australia  32  Batter  Uncapped 
Radha Yadav  40  40  1.00  India  BCA  22  All-rounder  Capped 
Taniyaa Bhatia  30  30  1.00  India  PCA  25  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Poonam Yadav  30  30  1.00  India  RSPB  31  Bowler  Capped 
Sneha Deepthi  30  30  1.00  India  ACA  26  Batter  Capped 
Arundhati Reddy  30  30  1.00  India  RSPB  25  All-rounder  Capped 
Minnu Mani  10  30  3.00  India  KCA  23  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Titas Sadhu  10  25  2.50  India  CAB  18  Bowler  Uncapped 
Jasia Akhter  20  20  1.00  India  RCA  34  Batter  Uncapped 
Aparna Mondal  10  10  1.00  India  TNCA  27  Wicketkeeper  Uncapped 
Tara Norris  10  10  1.00  USA  24  Bowler  Associate

Gujarat Giants

In Ash Gardner, Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland, Gujarat Giants got three high class Australian cricketers in their ranks. The trio is part of the dominant Aussie team and will lend great stability to the squad. England’s Sophia Dunkley and West Indies’ Deandra Dottin are also quality overseas picks. Nooshin Al Khadeer, part of the GG support staff who knows India’s domestic talent better than most, later said that the franchise focussed on getting the right overseas talent early and then filled up the Indian slots.

So in terms of Indian players, Giants might not have the superstars but they made some shrewd picks in the end. Sneh Rana was GG’s most expensive buy and is a potential leader, having worked closely with Al Khadeer at Railways. Harleen Deol, a regular in international cricket, was also added while the talented S Meghana and D Hemalatha could prove to be smart recruits in the coming weeks. The batting department, in terms of Indian talent, could prove to be a weakness.

All players recruited by Gujarat Giants

Player name  Reserve Price Rs Lakh  Bid (In Rs Lakh)  Team  Times over base price  Country  State Association  Age  Specialism  C/U/A 
Ashleigh Gardner  50  320  GG  6.40  Australia  25  All-rounder  Capped 
Beth Mooney  40  200  GG  5.00  Australia  29  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Sneh Rana  50  75  GG  1.50  India  RSPB  29  All-rounder  Capped 
Georgia Wareham  30  75  GG  2.50  Australia  23  All-rounder  Capped 
Annabel Sutherland  30  70  GG  2.33  Australia  21  All-rounder  Capped 
Sophia Dunkley  30  60  GG  2.00  England  24  Batter  Capped 
Deandra Dottin  50  60  GG  1.20  West Indies  31  All-rounder  Capped 
Sushma Verma  30  60  GG  2.00  India  HPCA  30  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Tanuja Kanwer  10  50  GG  5.00  India  RSPB  27  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Harleen Deol  40  40  GG  1.00  India  HPCA  24  All-rounder  Capped 
Ashwani Kumari  10  35  GG  3.50  India  JSCA  25  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Sabbineni Meghana  30  30  GG  1.00  India  RSPB  26  Batter  Capped 
Mansi Joshi  30  30  GG  1.00  India  CAU  29  All-rounder  Capped 
Dayalan Hemalatha  30  30  GG  1.00  India  RSPB  28  All-rounder  Capped 
Monica Patel  30  30  GG  1.00  India  KSCA  23  Bowler  Capped 
Hurley Gala  10  10  GG  1.00  India  MCA  16  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Shabnam Shakil  10  10  GG  1.00  India  ACA  15  Bowler  Uncapped 
Parunika Sisodia  10  10  GG  1.00  India  DDCA  17  Bowler  Uncapped

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians got the second-most expensive player in Nat Sciver-Brunt and also gained attention for acquiring India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, but at the end of the auction, one could say they were left a bit light in terms of batting. Pooja Vastrakar is a pace-bowling all-rounder with great potential while left-handed batter Yastika Bhatia is a regular for India. New Zealand’s leg-spinning all-rounder Amelia Kerr is a high class addition and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews is a proven batting all-rounder. MI did make some quality picks, including some fine all-rounders, but they could be caught lacking in certain areas.

All players recruited by Mumbai Indians

Player name  Reserve Price Rs Lakh  Bid (In Rs Lakh)  Times over base price  Country  State Association  Age  Specialism  C/U/A 
Natalie Sciver  50  320  6.40  England  30  All-rounder  Capped 
Pooja Vastrakar  50  190  3.80  India  MPCA  23  All-rounder  Capped 
Harmanpreet Kaur  50  180  3.60  India  PCA  34  All-rounder  Capped 
Yastika Bhatia  40  150  3.75  India  BCA  22  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Amelia Kerr  40  100  2.50  New Zealand  22  All-rounder  Capped 
Amanjot Kaur  30  50  1.67  India  PCA  22  All-rounder  Capped 
Hayley Matthews  40  40  1.00  West Indies  24  All-rounder  Capped 
Heather Graham  30  30  1.00  Australia  26  All-rounder  Capped 
Isabelle Wong  30  30  1.00  England  20  All-rounder  Capped 
Chloe Tryon  30  30  1.00  South Africa  29  All-rounder  Capped 
Priyanka Bala  10  20  2.00  India  Uncapped 
Sonam Yadav  10  10  1.00  India  UPCA  15  Bowler  Uncapped 
Dhara Gujjar  10  10  1.00  India  CAB  20  Batter  Uncapped 
Jintimani Kalita  10  10  1.00  India  ASCA  19  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Humairaa Kaazi  10  10  1.00  India  MCA  29  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Neelam Bisht  10  10  1.00  India  PCA  26  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Saika Ishaque  10  10  1.00  India  CAB  27  Bowler  Uncapped

Royal Challengers Bangalore

If there was one franchise that set the stage on fire in the initial phase of the auction, it was Royal Challengers Bangalore. They started with a bang by locking Mandhana for the biggest sum, before quickly adding Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine and Renuka Singh as well. They then acquired Richa Ghosh, arguably the most promising young keeper-batter in world cricket at the moment, before adding even more depth with Heather Knight, Dané Van Niekerk and Megan Schutt. The star power in RCB is second to none and they will undoubtedly be one of the biggest attractions once the season begins. Their scouting in the domestic circuit was evident too as they added some impressive uncapped Indian picks during the middle-phase with the likes of Disha Kasat and Shreyanka Patil.

All players recruited by RCB

Player name  Reserve Price Rs Lakh  Bid (In Rs Lakh)  Times over base price  Country  State Association  Age  Specialism  C/U/A 
Smriti Mandhana  50  340  6.80  India  MACA  26  Batter  Capped 
Richa Ghosh  50  190  3.80  India  CAB  19  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Ellyse Perry  50  170  3.40  Australia  32  All-rounder  Capped 
Renuka Singh  50  150  3.00  India  RSPB  27  Bowler  Capped 
Sophie Devine  50  50  1.00  New Zealand  33  All-rounder  Capped 
Heather Knight  40  40  1.00  England  32  All-rounder  Capped 
Megan Schutt  40  40  1.00  Australia  30  Bowler  Capped 
Kanika Ahuja  20  35  1.75  India  PCA  20  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Erin Burns  30  30  1.00  New Zealand  28  Batter  Capped 
Dané Van Niekerk  30  30  1.00  South Africa  29  All-rounder  Capped 
Preeti Bose  30  30  1.00  India  RSPB  30  Bowler  Capped 
Komal Zanzad  10  25  2.50  India  VCA  31  Bowler  Uncapped 
Disha Kasat  10  10  1.00  India  VCA  25  Batter  Uncapped 
Indrani Roy  10  10  1.00  India  RSPB  25  Wicketkeeper  Uncapped 
Shreyanka Patil  10  10  1.00  India  KSCA  20  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Poonam Khemnar  10  10  1.00  India  NCA  28  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Sahana Pawar  10  10  1.00  India  KSCA  26  Bowler  Uncapped

UP Warriorz

They finished with the least number of players (16) in their squad, but UP Warriorz were perhaps the most impressive franchise at the auction early on. Deepti Sharma is one of the best spin-bowling all-rounders, Tahlia Mcgrath is one of the best pace-bowling all-rounders, Grace Harris is one of the most powerful hitters, and Sophie Ecclestone is arguably the best spinner in the world. Then there is the mouth-watering opening pair of Alyssa Healy and Shweta Sehrawat, pacer Shabnim Ismail’s experience, and the quality of left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Not to mention, the likes of Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, Kiran Navgire and Parshavi Chopra as well. The price paid for Vaidya ended their auction early but the UP team will surely be a force to reckon with.

All players recruited by UP Warriorz

Player name  Reserve Price Rs Lakh  Bid (In Rs Lakh)  Times over base price  Country  State Association  Age  Specialism  C/U/A 
Deepti Sharma  50  260  5.20  India  CAB  25  All-rounder  Capped 
Sophie Ecclestone  50  180  3.60  England  23  All-rounder  Capped 
Tahlia Mcgrath  40  140  3.50  Australia  27  All-rounder  Capped 
Devika Vaidya  40  140  3.50  India  MACA  25  All-rounder  Capped 
Shabnim Ismail  40  100  2.50  South Africa  34  Bowler  Capped 
Grace Harris  30  75  2.50  Australia  29  All-rounder  Capped 
Alyssa Healy  50  70  1.40  Australia  32  Wicketkeeper  Capped 
Anjali Sarvani  30  55  1.83  India  RSPB  25  Bowler  Capped 
Rajeshwari Gayakwad  40  40  1.00  India  RSPB  31  Bowler  Capped 
Shweta Sehrawat  10  40  4.00  India  DDCA  19  Batter  Uncapped 
Kiran Navgire  30  30  1.00  India  NCA  28  Batter  Capped 
Lauren Bell  30  30  1.00  England  22  Bowler  Capped 
Parshavi Chopra  10  10  1.00  India  UPCA  16  All-rounder  Uncapped 
S. Yashasri  10  10  1.00  India  HYCA  19  All-rounder  Uncapped 
Simran Shaikh  10  10  1.00  India  MCA  21  Batter  Uncapped 
Laxmi Yadav  10  10  1.00  India  DDCA  25  Wicketkeeper  Uncapped