WPL Auction 2023 Highlights: Bidding war concludes as 87 women stars find owners for Women's Premier League

It's all done. The auctions have been completed. A total of 87 players have been bought for the first-ever Women's Premier League. RCB have made some smart buys in the final part. They bought Meghan Schutt for 40 lakh and no other team had more price. They then bought Sahana Pawar for 10 lakhs. Meanwhile, MI also made some buys as they took three players to end with a 17-player squad. 

Final squad filled:

MI-17, RCB-18, DC-18, GG- 18, UPW- 16

It was an action-packed auction as big names went under the hammer and the most expensive of them is none other than India's star Smriti Mandhana, who attracted a massive 3.40 Cr from RCB. It was a pleasure bringing this to you. Now the time will come for the real action to begin on March 4 but ahead of that, lots of preparations will be done by the teams.

A bidding war is back for the final time. RCB have made a smart steal as they bought Megan Schutt for 40 lakh.

That was the end of round 2 of the accelerated auctions. This was said to be the last part but with some slots left, teams are given one more chance to buy players. MI have bought 14 players and are 1 slot short of the minimum mark of 15 players. It's a five-minute short break.

Maximum slots and Purse left:

MI- 4 slots. Purse- 0.30 Cr

DC- 0. Purse- 0.35 Cr

RCB- 2. Purse- 0.60 Cr

UPW- 2. Purse- 0.00 Cr

GG-2. Purse- 0.15 Cr

Dane van Niekerk, Chloe Tryon sold to RCB and MI, respectively for 30 lakh each

Jess Jonassen is SOLD to Delhi Capitals for INR 50 Lakh.

Young Hurley Gala from India is SOLD to Gujarat Giants for INR 10 Lakh.

Sushma Verma is SOLD to Gujarat Giants for INR 60 Lakh 

The second and last part of auctions are underway. Taniyaa and Matthews find owners as they have been sold. Poonam Yadav sold at 30 lakh to DC

Now as the squads are about to be finalised, one would expect these teams to make smart buys and complete a few loopholes if any. There are some big names yet to find their owners.

Players to watch out in 2nd accelerated auctions are, Suzie Bates, Heather Knight, Meghan Schutt, Chamari Atapattu, Poonam yadav and Taniya Bhatia. 

Teams:

Giants: Gardner, Mooney, Dunkley, Sutherland, Deol, Dottin, Rana, Meghana, Wareham, Joshi, Hemalatha, Kanwar

Warriorz: Ecclestone, Deepti, McGrath, Ismail, Healy, Sarvani, Gayakwad, Parshavi, Sehrawat, Yashasri, Navgire, Harris, Vaidya, Bell, Monica, Laxmi

RCB: Mandhana, Devine, Perry, Renuka, Ghosh, Burns, Kasat, Roy, Patil, Ahuja, Shobana

MI: Harmanpreet, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Vastrakar, Yastika, Graham, Wong, Amanjot, Gujjar, Ishaque

DC: Rodrigues, Lanning, Shafali, Radha, Shikha, Kapp, Sadhu, Capsey, Norris, Harris, Jasia, Mani

Team's Purse:

DC: 2.15 crore 
RCB 1.95 crore
Giants: 1.30 crore 
MI: 1.30 crore
Warriors: 10 lakh

Maximum Slot's left:

MI- 8, DC- 6, RCB- 7, UP- 3, GG- 5

The accelerated auctions featured players from a list submitted by the five teams. There were a couple of steals as Kiran Navgire and S Meghana were picked at 30 lakh each. Capped Meghana Singh went unsold, while Devika Vaidya attracted bids as she went for a handsome 1.4 Cr.

The first round of the accelerated auctions has ended and the next round will begin after a breather. Each team has been asked to submit a list of 7 players, except UP as they have just 10 lakh left in purse.

The teams are now looking for young players and are also aiming to fill their squads. 

Tanuja Kanwer is SOLD to Gujarat Giants for INR 50 Lakh

Kanika Ahuja is next and SOLD for INR 35 Lakh to RCB 

Minnu Mani is SOLD to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 Lakh 

India's capped player Meghna Singh has gone unsold.

UP have invested most of their remaining purse in Devika and have bought her at 1.40 Cr. They have only 50 lakh left now.

Amanjot Kaur is Sold to INR 50 Lakh to MI

Dayalan Hemalatha is Sold to Gujarat at 30 lakh 

Jasia Akhter is SOLD to Delhi Capitals for INR 20 Lakh

It's India's capped player Devika under the hammer. DC and UP are going behind her.

So, the accelerated auctions are underway. India's Kiran Navgire is sold to UP and Sabbineni Meghana is sold to Gujarat for 30 lakh each.

Heather Graham is Sold to MI at INR 30 Lakh.

All-rounder Grace Harris from Australia is Sold to UP for INR 75 Lakh.

Renuka Singh is sold to RCB in the WPL. Meanwhile, her family was seen enjoying her daughter's success. 

Have a look at this video:

The Accelerated auction is coming up and each team has been asked to submit a list of up to 15 players. 75 players to go under the hammer now

After 10 sets, here's how the teams look:

DC: Rodrigues, Lanning, Shafali, Radha, Pandey, Kapp, Sadhu
MI: Harmanpreet, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Vastrakar, Yastika
Giants: Gardner, Mooney, Dunkley, Sutherland, Harleen, Dottin, Rana
RCB: Mandhana, Devine, Perry, Renuka, Ghosh
Warriorz: Ecclestone, Deepti, McGrath, Ismail, Healy, Sarvani, Gayakwad, Chopra, Sehrawat, Yashasri

Purse left:

DC 3.95 crore, GG 3.75, MI 2.60, RCB 3, UP 2.95

So, 10 sets are done and some of India's U-19 World Cup heroes have found their owners. Parshavi Chopra went to UP, Titas was sold to DC and Sehrawat was sold to UP

S Yashasri has been bought by UP at a base price of 10 lakh.

Sehrawat goes to UP at 40 lakh. She was in brilliant touch in the U-19 T20 World Cup and was the highest run-scorer with 297 runs.

Fast bowler Titas is sold to DC at 25 lakh.

Parshavi Chopra is first from U-19 winning team to get sold. She is bought by UP at a base price of 10 lakh

Set 9 underway is underway and emerging players are going under the hammer. It's India's U-19 T20 World Cup-winning girls featuring and two have gone unsold.

And DC have made another big purchase. They have bought South Africa's Marizanne Kapp for 1.5 cr.

Sneh Rana has been bought by Gujarat Giants for 75 lakh. Marizanne Kapp is next and has crossed 1 Cr. Fight between GG and DC.

DC are in action after the break. They have bought Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav.

So, the eighth set is underway and Radha Yadav is sold at 40 lakh to DC. This was her base price.

Here are the teams after 7 sets

Capitals: Rodrigues, Lanning, Shafali
RCB: Mandhana, Devine, Perry, Renuka, Richa
Gujarat Giants: Gardner, Mooney, Dunkley, Sutherland, Deol, Dottin
UP Warriorz: Ecclestone, Deepti, McGrath, Ismail, Healy, Sarvani, Gayakwad
MI: Harmanpreet, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Vastrakar, Yastika

Purse remain:

DC - 6.7 crore, RCB - 3 Cr, Warriorz - 3.55 Cr, Giants - 4.5 Cr, MI - 2.6 Cr

Slots left:

DC- 15, RCB- 13, Gujarat- 12, UP- 11, MI- 13

Smriti Mandhana is the most expensive buy so far. She was sold to RCB for 3.40 Cr

Most expensive Indian buys:

• 5- Pooja Vastrakar: Sold to MI for 1.9 Cr
• 4- Shafali Verma: Sold to DC for 2.0 Cr
• 3- Jemimah Rodrigues: Sold to DC for 2.2 Cr
• 2- Deepti Sharma: Sold to UP for 2.6 Cr
• 1- Smriti Mandhana: Sold to RCB for 3.40 Cr

We are done with set 7 now. The spin bowlers featured in the set and Gayakwad was sold to UP for 40 lakh. It's a 15-minute break in the auctions.

UP Warriorz have bought Rajeshwari Gayakwad for 40 lakh. Poonam Yadav and Nonkululeko Mlaba go unsold. 

India's Anjali Sarvani has been sold to UP for 55 lakh.

UP might have made a big steal. They have bought the renowned Aussie hitter wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy for 70 lakh

Wicket-keeper Yastika Bhatia is sold to MI for 1.5 Cr. So, they have got a front-line keeper too.

Here are exclusive reactions of Indian players at the time of Harmanpreet Kaur's bid. The players can be seen shouting as the bid went ahead.

And MI have bought quick all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar for 1.9 Cr.

Harleen Deol goes to Gujarat Giants on a base price of 40 lakh.

Pooja Vastrakar going next and MI and DC are going behind her.

Set 4 is underway and England captain Knight goes unsold.

Smriti Mandhana has expressed her excitement to join RCB. She said that RCB has a great legacy and the team is part of IPL for more than a decade and she is excited to join the franchise.

3rd set is also done and Delhi have done some good work here. They have bought young Indian players- Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma. Solid Indian batters.

The U-19 Women's World Cup-winning captain Shafali Verma has been sold to DC at 2.0 Cr. There was a three-way battle between MI, RCB and DC but DC won in end.

DC have bought last match's hero Jemimah Rodrigues for 2.2 Cr. Wait, they have just bought the Aussie skipper Lanning for 1.1 Cr. 

And the 3rd set of players is underway. England's Sophia Dunkley goes first and is taken by Gujarat for 60 lakh.

Amelia Kerr goes to MI as the 2nd set is done and there were some big buys in it. Kerr was bought by Mi for 1.0 Cr. 3rd gets underway.

UP Warriorz have bought South Africa's fast bowler Shabnim Ismail for 1.0 Cr.

And Gujarat have bought Australia's Beth Mooney for 2.0 Cr.

UP have bought Australia's star all-rounder Tahlia McGrath for 1.4 Cr. A good buy.

England's all-rounder Natalie Sciver has been sold to MI for 3.2 Cr.

India's star speedster Renuka Singh goes to RCB for 1.5 Cr. There was a battle between DC and RCB but this is another good buy for the RCB team.

UP Warriorz buy Deepti Sharma for 2.6 Cr. 

2nd set is underway and Deepti Sharma is going big.

The Indian Women's cricket team is glued to the TV sets at the time and the players went in jubilation as Mandhana attracted a 3.40 Cr price. 

WATCH the reactions here:

So, the first set of marquee players is done and 6 players have been sold. Mandhana is the most expensive till now with a 3.40 Cr price to RCB.

UP Warriorz open their account as they have bought England player Ecclestone for 1.8 Cr.

Perry goes to RCB as they have now taken three players from this list of auctions. Perry is sold at 1.7 Cr. They have spent 5.6 Cr

Gardner goes to Gujarat Giants for 3.40 Cr. They came in with a bid late but gets their player. Next is Perry.

RCB have done a steal here. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has been bought by RCB at a base price itself of 50 lakh INR

Mumbai have purchased Indian captain Harmanpreet for 1.80 Cr.

And RCB have bought the first player of the auctions. It's none other than the Indian giant Mandhana. She goes for a massive 3.40 Cr to RCB.

Smriti Mandhana is first to go. Mumbai and Banglore are fighting for her.

And here is the logo of the Women's Premier League.

Shibani Akhtar welcomes the owners at the auction venue and invites BCCI president Roger Binny and BCCI secretary Jay Shaha for unveiling WPL logo.

The auctions begin and the sale of players is about to begin. Stay tuned for the updates.

The first set will feature the marquee players. Sophie Devine, Sophie Ecclestone, Ash Gardner, Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Hayley Matthews, and Perry are on the list.

We are less than 15 minutes from the action to begin in Mumbai. 

There are 24 players who have listed themselves in the top bracket of INR 50 lakh. 10 of them are Indian players. They are-  Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Pooja Vastrakar, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana and Meghna Singh. In the next bracket of INR 40 lakh, there are 30 players, including 8 Indians.

There are many big names in the WPL auctions but there are surely some, which can break the bank and go big. Some of them can be Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Smriti Mandhana, Ash Garnder, Harmanpreet Kaur, Ellyse Perry, and Deepti Sharma among others.

Where are auctions being held?

The bidding war will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

When will the auctions begin?

The auctions will begin from 2:30 PM IST on 13th February

How many players are up for grabs?

A total of 448 players are up for grabs after an increase from an initial list of 409 players. 269 players are from India, while 179 are from overseas countries including 19 from associate nations.

Total purse?

Each team will have a total purse of INR 12 Cr each.

What can be the squad size of each team?

Every team can purchase a minimum of 15 players and a maximum of 18 players. This means 75-90 players will be sold. 6 players can be from overseas nations, which means a maximum of 30 overseas players can be bought

The day has come. It's the auction day in the first-ever Women's Premier League. This is what many players and fans are all excited about. Hello and Welcome to the coverage of the WPL 2023 auctions. I, Varun Malik, will bring you the updates right from the bidding war in Mumbai. Stay tuned for this exciting day in Women's cricket.