The
uncapped Indian players grabbed headlines as they fetched big money at
the Women's Premier League [WPL] 2025 auction held in Bengaluru.
Simran Shaikh,
the Mumbai allrounder, turned out to be the biggest buy on auction day
with Gujarat Giants picking her up for INR 1.9 crore (USD 223,000
approx). Mumbai Indians meanwhile picked up 16-year-old Tamil Nadu
batter
G Kamalini for INR 1.60 crore (USD 190,000 approx) while Uttarakhand legspinner
Prema Rawat went to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for INR 1.2 crore (USD 140,000 approx).
Among the overseas players, West Indies allrounder
Deandra Dottin
raked in the most money. She was the first name out of the bag on
auction day and was snapped up for INR 1.7 crore (USD 200,000 approx) by
Gujarat Giants, incidentally the same team that had
controversially excluded her after the first season.
With most
of the squads already set, a total of 19 players were sold among the 124
that went under the hammer, of which five were overseas names. Each of
Mumbai, Delhi Capitals, Giants, and RCB picked four players, while UP
Warriorz made just three buys.
Shaikh
has played in the tournament before while this will be Kamalini and
Rawat's first WPL rodeo. Shaikh was part of the Warriorz side in 2023
where she returned just 29 runs in seven innings. She entered the
auction at a base price of INR 10 lakh which swelled thanks to the
bidding war between Giants and Capitals.
"We've
been watching the local competitions closely, the T20s and the
Challengers. She stands out in terms of her hitting power and strike
rate, and complements the other local Indian players [we've got in the
squad]," Giants head coach Klinger said. "To have someone like her,
potentially in our top six-seven, who can hit sixes straightaway,
completes us. We were targeting her."
Shaikh scored 176 runs in nine innings at the 2024 senior women's T20 trophy at a strike rate of 100.57.
Kamalini
also entered the auction at a base price of INR 10 lakh. She had
earlier in the day scored an unbeaten 29-ball 44 to guide India to a
nine-wicket win in their opening game of the Under-19 women's Asia Cup
against Pakistan.
Rawat, 23, is a promising legspinner for Uttarakhand. She put in
impressive performances for Mussoorie Thunders during the inaugural
Uttarakhand Premier League and is also known to be an outstanding
fielder.
Among the
unsold bunch, the most surprising names were of India spinner and former
Giants captain Sneh Rana, England seamer Lauren Bell, England captain
Heather Knight and former South Africa opener Lizelle Lee. No Indian
capped player was sold at the auction with only the uncapped and
overseas players getting bids.
RCB
made four bids - all on uncapped players - while Mumbai got Nadine de
Klerk for INR 30 lakh (USD 40,000 approx). Capitals' most expensive pick
of the day was the uncapped bowler
Shree Charani, who they picked for INR 55 lakh (USD 70,000 approx), while they also bought wicketkeeper-batters
Nandini Kashyap and Sarah Bryce.
"Very
good auction for us to be honest," Sourav Ganguly, Capitals' director
of cricket, said after the auction. "I've been with this WPL team for
two seasons now, watching them closely, involved in the auction and
everything. And we are far stronger squad than we were last year, with
Nandini and Sarah in the squad now, we are looking very good."
Warriorz
meanwhile got Australia legspinner Alana King late in the accelerated
round of the auction while Giants also signed England allrounder
Danielle Gibson.
Players bought at the WPL 2025 auction
Delhi Capitals: Shree Charani, Nandini Kashyap, Sarah Bryce (Scotland), Niki Prasad
Gujarat Giants: Simran Shaikh, Deandra Dottin (WI), Danielle Gibson (Eng), Prakashika Naik
Mumbai Indians: G Kamalini, Nadine de Klerk (SA), Akshita Maheshwari, Sanskriti Gupta
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Prema Rawat, Joshitha JV, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar
UP Warriorz: Alana King (Aus), Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud
