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What Happened At The Inaugural WPL Auctions? All You Need To Know

image-lpe2cg0eHarmanpreet Kaur led Mumbai Indians to WPL 2023 win (BCCI)

The inaugural chapter of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), as unfolded in Mumbai earlier this year, was a resounding success. After 22 gripping matches spanning three weeks and across two iconic venues, it was Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians team that stood tall on the winner’s podium.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now announced a date for the auctions of next year’s WPL 2024 season. The much-awaited bidding war is set to be held on December 9 in Mumbai. As fans brace themselves for a fresh WPL chapter, here at OneCricket, we take a look at what happened the last time some of the world’s elite women cricketers went under the hammer for the tournament’s inaugural edition.

Smriti Mandhana topped WPL 2023 roster

The auction for the first-ever WPL season took place on February 13, 2023, i.e., barely three weeks prior to the launch of the competition in Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.

Indian players like Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma were among the biggest benefactors from the show, while overseas stars like Ashleigh Gardner, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Beth Mooney also set the cash registers ringing among the five participating franchises.

By the end of the event, as many as 87 players were distributed among five teams, with Indian veteran Mandhana becoming the most expensive purchase of the T20 gala (Rs. 3.4 crore). About 30 of the 87 listed cricketers were overseas stars, where Gardner and Nat Sciver emerged as the joint-most expensive non-Indian players, raking in Rs. 3.2 crore each.

Delhi Capitals roped in 18 players, including Australian champion captain Meg Lanning and Indian rising star Shafali Verma. Gujarat Giants and RCB also acquired 18 players each, while eventual WPL winners Mumbai Indians had 17 players in their camp by the end of the auction event. UP Warriorz, on the other hand, boasted just 16 cricketers, including captain Alyssa Healy and Indian all-round star Deepti Sharma.

As a fresh auction approaches, one can expect some changes within each squad’s composition as they prepare themselves for the WPL 2024 season in a few months’ time. Each franchise has already released a few players while making a number of retentions in their bid for a new WPL chapter that awaits them.