It was an exciting WPL 2024 player auction that was held in Mumbai on Saturday, a few hours before the start of the second T20I between India Women and England Women at the Wankhede Stadium. 30 slots were available among five teams and all of them were filled at the end of the auction.
The biggest buy of the day was Kashvee Gautam, who bagged a whopping ₹2 crore. The 20-year-old invited bids from UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants, but in the end went to the Giants. Kashvee with a base price of ₹10 lakhs climbed up the ladder in a jiffy to attract the best deal of the day.
Besides Kashvee, another India uncapped player, who featured for India A Women against England A women in the recently concluded three-match T20 series caught the eye of UP Warriorz, who have availed the services of this promising opening batter from Karnataka for a jaw-dropping ₹1.3 crores.
Looking at the overseas contingent, the Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland, who was released by Gujarat Giants, found a new home in Delhi as the Capitals splurged a massive ₹2 crore. The defending champions Mumbai Indians too showed keen interest in the all-rounder but pulled out eventually.
Sutherland’s countrymate Phoebe Litchfield, who is an elegant left-handed opening batter clinched a ₹1 crore deal from the Gujarat Giants, a team that had to do the maximum heavy lifting for the day. True to her role, she was the opening player to go under the hammer and after an intense bid war between the Giants and Warriorz, the former had the last laugh.
Another Australian to be picked for WPL was Georgia Wareham. A leg spinner and a handy bat went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹40 lakhs. The RCB also bought England’s right arm seamer Kate Cross for ₹30 lakhs and Indian veteran Ekta Bisht, a left arm spinner, for ₹60 lakhs, an amount double her base price.
Further adding to the list of overseas players is one name that brought a smile on the faces of Mumbai Indians’ fans and that is Shabnim Ismail. The South African pace ace may have retired from international cricket but she continues to dazzle in franchise cricket tournaments, with her recent hat-trick in the Hundred grabbing all the headlines. Ismail at ₹1.2 crore has joined the MI family.
Players picked in the WPL Player Auction 2024
Mumbai Indians: Shabnim Ismail (₹1.20 crores), Amandeep Kaur (₹10 lakhs), S Sajana (₹15 lakhs), Fatima Jaffar (₹10 lakhs), Keerthana Balakrishnan (₹10 lakhs)
Gujarat Giants: Phoebe Litchfield (₹1 crore), Meghna Singh (₹30 lakhs), Trisha Poojitha (₹10 lakhs) Kashvee Gautam (₹2 crores), Priya Mishra (₹20 lakhs), Lauren Cheatle (₹30 lakhs), Kathryn Bryce (₹10 lakhs), Mannat Kashyap (₹10 lakhs), Veda Krishnamurthy (₹30 lakhs), Tarannum Pathan (₹10 lakhs)
Delhi Capitals: Annabel Sutherland (₹2 crores), Aparna Mondal (₹10 lakhs), Ashwani Kumari (₹10 lakhs)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Georgia Wareham (₹40 lakhs), Kate Cross (₹30 lakhs), Ekta Bisht (₹60 lakhs), Shubha Satheesh (₹10 lakhs), S Meghana (₹30 lakhs), Simran Bahadur (₹30 lakhs), Sophie Molineux (₹30 lakhs)
UP Warriorz: Danielle Wyatt (₹30 lakhs), Vrinda Dinesh (₹1.3 crores), Poonam Khemnar (₹10 lakhs), Saima Thakor (₹10 lakhs), Gouher Sultana (₹30 lakhs),
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.