History made at inaugural WPL Auction
HISTORY was made yesterday in India, with the inaugural auction for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) taking place, with some big names earning some big pay days.
The WPL’s (female equivalent of the IPL) five inaugural franchises – Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Banglaore, UP Warriorz, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals – all went to the auction to build their inaugural lists, but with only 30 international player slots avaliable, some big names were always going to miss out.
It ws a good night for the Australian contingent, with 14 Aussies being snapped up in the auction.
Ash Gardner walked away with the biggest pay day, snapped up by Gujarat for the equivalent of $558,000 Australian dollars. She will team up with former NSW Breakers team mate Rachael Haynes who is the inaugural coach of the Giants, as well as Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland who were also picked up by the Giants in the auction.
Gardner was not the most expensive player of the night though. That honour went to Indian star Smriti Mandhana, who was picked up for the equivalent of $593,000 Australian dollars.
The other Australians that were picked up in the auction were: Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Meg Lanning, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Megan Schutt, Erin Burns and Heather Graham.
Seven English players, four South Africans, two New Zealanders, two West Indians and one American were also picked up in the auction.
With international spots at a premium, some big names were always going to miss out. Some of the big names to miss out on a spot include Alana King, Suzie Bates, Danni Wyatt, Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Laura Wolvaardt.
The inaugural WPL season will take place between March 4 and 26, with Aussies able to watch the series on Kayo.
The full inaugural squads for all five teams are below.
Delhi Capitals
Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp (SA), Meg Lanning (AUS), Alice Capsey (ENG), Shikha Pandey, Jess Jonassen (AUS), Laura Harris (AUS), Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Jasia Akhter, Aparna Mondal, Tara Norris (USA)
Coach: Jon Batty
Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner (AUS), Beth Mooney (AUS), Georgia Wareham (AUS), Sneh Rana, Annabel Sutherland (AUS), Deandra Dottin (WI), Sophia Dunkley (ENG), Sushma Verma, Tanuja Kanwer, Harleen Deol, Ashwani Kumari, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Sabbineni Meghana, Hurley Gala, Parunika Sisodia, Shabnam Shakil
Coach: Rachael Haynes
Mumbai Indians
Natalie Sciver (ENG), Pooja Vastrakar, Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, Amelia Kerr (NZ), Amanjot Kaur, Hayley Matthews (WI), Chloe Tryon (SA), Heather Graham (AUS), Isabelle Wong (ENG), Priyanka Bala, Dhara Gujjar, Humairaa Kaazi, Jintimani Kalita, Neelam Bisht, Saika Ishaque, Sonam Yadav
Coach: Charlotte Edwards
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry (AUS), Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine (NZ), Heather Knight (ENG), Megan Schutt (AUS), Kanika Ahuja, Dane van Niekerk (SA), Erin Burns (AUS), Preeti Bose, Komal Zanzad, Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Poonam Khemnar, Sahana Pawar, Shreyanka Patil
Coach: Ben Sawyer
UP Warriorz
Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone (ENG), Devika Vaidya, Tahlia McGrath (AUS), Shabnim Ismail (SA), Grace Harris (AUS), Alyssa Healy (AUS), Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell (ENG), Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, S. Yashasri, Simran Shaikh
Coach: Jon Lewis
Sutherland creates more history as Australia takes Rose Bowl Trophy lead
IN THE game against New Zealand on Saturday, Annabel Sutherland‘s star continued to rise as she made history to take the Australians closer to a Rose Bowl Trophy series win. Sutherland’s recent form has been sublime, but yesterday’s effort culminated in her becoming the first woman to hit two consecutive ODI centuries batting at number […]
Rain dampens Australia’s effort to pull ahead in Brisbane
A DRAW was played out over five days play in Brisbane, with rain marring Australia’s effort to pull ahead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The teams go into the sold-out first day of the Boxing Day test each with a game in hand after India took the first test in Perth, and Australia hit back in […]
PREVIEW | New Zealand vs Australia – ODIs
AUSTRALIA’S last international series of 2024 gets underway tomorrow across the ditch, with the Aussie girls set to contest a three match one day series with neighbours New Zealand. There is certainly plenty riding on this series, more so for the hosts than for the tourists. With automatic qualification to next year’s World Cup always […]
Sutherland posts ODI century as Australia completes the sweep
DESPITE a brilliant century from Smriti Mandhana and a tight economical spell from Arundhati Reddy, Australia prevailed at the WACA by 83 runs on Wednesday night. The Australian Women’s Cricket Team took a clean sweep of their series against India after another comprehensive win in game three. Their big win set-up by all-rounder Annabel Sutherland‘s […]
Hometown Head steers Australia to 10-wicket win
NAMED Player of the Match in his hometown test, Australian men’s batter Travis Head scored the only century in three days play in the Adelaide pink ball test. Taking the second test by 10 wickets, Australia levelled the series with a big win in front of a record crowd of 135,000 spectators across the less […]
Ellyse Perry’s historic performance sets up win against India
THERE was a sense of déjà vu for Australia in its second ODI against India with another masterful performance from youngster Georgia Voll, which was paired another experienced star’s career-best figures in Ellyse Perry. This Australian women’s series against India, has been one to remember for a few reasons. It started with Voll’s two first […]
Schutt and Voll lead Australia to crushing win against India
IT was Australia’s young talent and their more experienced core that took hold at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, taking the win by five wickets in the first game of the series. In her first game, all-rounder Georgia Voll (46 off 42 balls) was instrumental in the run chase, while at the other end of […]
PREVIEW | Australia vs India ODI Series
INTERNATIONAL cricket is back in Australia and back in the spotlight, as a three match one day series between two powerhouses of the women’s game gets underway in Brisbane today. Australia and India will battle it out as both sides continue to build towards next year’s World Cup and to the culmination of the current […]
Konstas shines in shortened PM’s XI hitout
THE YOUNG star of Sam Konstas continues to rise after the opener earned Player of the Match honours in the Prime Minister’s XI scratch match against India. Despite playing on the losing side, his 107 off 97 deliveries was a standout performance in the rain effected hitout at Manuka Oval. >> SCROLL to see the […]
