Hayley Matthews becomes the first-ever player to go unsold in the WPL auction
Hayley Matthews in action [Source: Twitter]
In a shocking turn of events, legendary West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews went unsold in the inaugural Women's Premier League auction. Despite possessing incredible all-round attributes, she couldn't find any bidders, which raised a few eyebrows.
The auction began with a bang, with Indian stalwarts Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur being sold for reasonable 3.4 Crores and 1.8 Crores, respectively, to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. However, the franchises seemed uninterested in raising their hands as soon as the auctioneer announced the name of the Caribbean legend.
However, it's surprising, considering Matthews' experience and ability to maul any opposition through both bat and ball. She has been a mainstay for the West Indies in white-ball cricket over the years, amassing 3408 runs in 152 innings.
More importantly, she has been equally effective with the ball, showcasing her bowling prowess across all phases in T20 cricket. Overall, the right-arm off-spinner has 163 wickets to her name. Her economy of a mere 5.85 vividly represents how tough she has been to score against, even by the bests in business.
Therefore, Matthews going unsold definitely sheds light on the ignorance of the franchises, who are probably unaware of her skillset. Having said that, we expect her to fetch a deal in the accelerated round scheduled later today.
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