308 runs in WC 2025 and yet no bidders; Decoding why Pratika Rawal went unsold in WPL auction

Pratika Rawal for India - (Source: AFP)

On Thursday, November 27, the 2nd mega-auction in WPL history took place in New Delhi, where 277 players came under the hammer. A lot of surprising calls were made during the event, but the one that made headlines was Pratika Rawal. 

The Indian star, who made headlines during the Women's World Cup 2025 for her heroics, failed to find any interest in the room and went unsold, which sent shockwaves on the internet. 

For the unversed, Pratika Rawal was the fourth leading run-getter in the Women's World Cup 2025, where she amassed 308 runs in seven innings, averaging 51. However, she was ruled out of the tournament before the semi-finals, but was expected to earn big in WPL 2026.

Meanwhile, this article will shed light on key reasons why IPL franchises showed no interest in Pratika Rawal.

Let's look at Pratika Rawal's stats in Women's World Cup 2025.

1. Injury concern and WPL's latest circular

During India's final group stage match during the 2025 Women's World Cup, Rawal injured her knee and was ruled out of the tournament. It was a serious injury as Rawal was seen sporting a knee brace and was in a wheelchair during post-final celebrations.

Thus, Rawal's injury concern was the major reason why teams refused to go after Pratika as she registered at a higher base price of 50 lakhs, and none of the teams wanted to risk their hefty amount for the right-handed batter.

Further, the WPL also gave a briefing to all WPL teams about three injured players, including Rawal and stated that they won't be a compulsory part of the 15-member squad, which means that a team that buys Rawal need to have a squad of 16 players.

Also, the circular added that once bought, they cannot replace these injured players in the tournament, which further refrained any side from investing in Rawal.

2. Strike-Rate concerns

Besides the injury concerns, Rawal's strike rate has been a major concern for all teams. Notably, she is an anchor and loves to play the game at her own pace. Even during the Women's World Cup 2025, Rawal batted at a scoring rate of 77.08. 

Also, Rawal has never played a T20I for the Women in Blue, and there is no guarantee whether she can match the current speed and demand of the game.

3. Too late in the auction

One thing that didn't go in Pratika Rawal's favour was her time of appearance in the mega-auction. Notably, because of her injury and being uncapped, she was placed in a set scheduled for the latter half of the auction. 

Now, what happened is that teams spent big bucks on top stars early on in the auction and were left with a minimal purse value by the end and couldn't afford a 50 lakh base-price player.

PS- Eventually Pratika Rawal found a bidder in the accelerated round and UP Warriorz bought the right-handed batter in the last set for the day. 

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