The player auctions for the second edition of the five-team Women’s Premier League will be held on Saturday in Mumbai.
With all the teams having announced their retentions and releases, the Gujarat Giants have the most slots to fill in their squad with a whopping 13 empty places. The Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will also have some heavy lifting to do on the auction day to fill the 10 vacant spots in their squad.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians have six spots to fill and so do the UP Warriorz. On the other hand, the inaugural edition’s runners-up Delhi Capitals have retained a majority of their squad and can only buy four players.
With a total of 165 players – domestic and international included, up for grabs, expect a bidding war among the franchises for the best of talents.
Here, we take a look at five Indian players, who could start a bidding war:
Devika Vaidya
An experienced campaigner, who has represented India in 30 international matches, Devika Vaidya turned out for the UP Warriorz in the inaugural edition of the WPL earlier this year. Having been released by the franchise ahead of the auction, Vaidya has set a base price of Rs 30 lakh for herself.
An excellent leg-spinner, who can also bat, Vaidya can be a good pick for the two teams which struggled for stability – Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the previous edition.
Uma Chetry
A swashbuckling wicketkeeper who opens the batting is a dream for any T20 franchise. Uma Chetry provides just that. The 21-year-old from Assam recently impressed in the three-match T20 series between India A and England A with a couple of quick-fire 20s and safe catching behind the stumps.
Chetry was also called up to the senior Indian team as a backup to Yastika Bhatia for their tour to Bangladesh earlier this year and will be available at a base price of Rs 10 lakh in the auction.
Mannat Kashyap
An integral part of the Indian team which won the Women’s Under-19 World Cup title earlier in the year, Mannat Kashyap went unsold at the player auctions ahead of the inaugural edition of the WPL. The left-arm spinner has since gone from strength to strength and shone bright during the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup as well as the series against England A.
Kashyap has set a base price of Rs 10 lakh at the auction.
Simran Bahadur
A bowling all-rounder, Simran Bahadur has played a total of six T20Is and a solitary ODI for the Indian team. The 23-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit over the years and can be a value addition to any franchise looking for a quality bowler, who can smash some big shots lower down the order. Her unbeaten 10-ball 20 for Velocity in a chase of 166 in the erstwhile Women’s T20 Challenge last year still remains fresh in the minds of fans.
Bahadur was unsold in the previous auction and has set her base price at Rs 30 lakh.
Kashvee Gautam
The 20-year-old Kashvee Gautam is one of the most exciting fast bowling prospects in the country. A right-arm pacer has been one of the standout performers in the domestic circuit this season picking up 12 wickets and scoring 112 runs for Chandigarh in the Senior Women’s T20 tournament. She was also a part of the North Zone in the Senior Women’s T20 Inter-zonal tournament and even picked up a hat-trick during that campaign.
Gautam was also a part of the Emerging Asia Cup team and the India A team which played against England A and is up for grabs at a base price of Rs 10 lakh.
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