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
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