Feb 15, 2023
By: eetika.kapoor@timesinternet.in
Credit: BCCL
The inaugural five-franchise tournament Women’s Premier League (WPL) is now the second most expensive cricket league after men’s IPL. These players from India have now become millionaires, thanks to the bid money offered at inaugural WPL auction:
Credit: BCCL
The five-franchise inaugural WPL will be held from March 3 to March 26 this year, approximately a month before the men’s IPL in April. Mukesh Ambani-owned Viacom18 won the media rights for WPL from 2023-2027 at ₹951 crore.
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In October 2022, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced male and female cricketers will be paid equally. A Test match fee would be ₹15 lakh, ODI would be ₹6 lakh, and for T20I matches, it’ll be ₹3 lakhs per player. The launch of WPL itself is expected to fetch BCCI ₹6000 to ₹8000 crore.
Credit: BCCL
Five teams of at least 18 members has space for 8 foreign players. Nat Sciver-Brunt from England became the most expensive foreign player winning a bid for ₹3.2 crore. A total of 14 Australian cricketers were picked up in the WPL auction - maximum for any country.
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26-year-old Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive WPL player, winning a bid for ₹3.4 crore for Royal Challengers Bangalore. At IPL auction inauguration in 2008, India’s M.S Dhoni won the most expensive bid at ₹9.5 crore million, thrice of Mandhana’s winning bid.
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Mandhana started playing cricket at the age of six. The cricket prodigy will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore, the same team as Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, who won a bid for ₹15 crore at IPL auction 2022. English cricketer Sam Curran is the most expensive IPL player ever bought - for ₹18.5 crore by Punjab Kings in 2022.
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Another emerging cricket legend, Deepti Sharma is UP Warriorz’ most expensive player, winning the bid at ₹2.6 crore. She has the highest ODI score in Indian women’s cricket of 188, making her one of the most successful T20 all-rounders. Indian cricketer Devika Vaidya also won a bid of ₹1.40 crore for UP Warriorz.
Credit: Deepti Sharma Instagram
Batter Jemimah Rodrigues (22) became the first cricketer on Delhi Capital’s team, winning a bid of ₹2.2 crore. She scored a half-century against Pakistan at the ICC Women’s world cup 2023 on February 13. At the mere age of 11, she was picked to play for the Under-19 Mumbai team. She debuted for India in 2018.
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This 19-year-old hailing from Haryana might be one of the youngest players for ICC women’s cricket but led the Indian team as captain to win the world's first Under-19 women cricket world cup in February. Shafali won a bid for ₹2 crore, being picked by Delhi Capitals.
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Called “Chota Hardik” in cricket circles for her fearlessness, Madhya Pradesh right-handed batter and all-rounder Pooja Vistrakar (22) won a bid of ₹1.9 crore with Nita Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians. Apparently, her father wants her to invest this auction money into a fixed deposit (FD).
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Ranked 6th in global rankings of women’s ODI rankings, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur (33) won a bid of ₹1.8 crore from Mumbai Indians. All-rounder Yastika Bhatia (22) also closed a deal with the same team for ₹1.5 crore.
Credit: Harmanpreet Kaur Twitter
Keeper, finisher and bowler 19-year-old Indian cricketer hailing from Siliguri, Richa Ghosh won a bid for ₹1.9 crore with Royal Challengers Bangalore. One of India’s best wicket takers, Renuka Singh (27) from Himachal Pradesh won a bid of ₹1.5 crore also for Bangalore’s Royal Challengers.
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