MUMBAI, (Reuters) – India opener Smriti Mandhana, England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner struck it rich in yesterday’s player auction for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) next month.
Nearly 450 players went under the hammer and several of them experienced the biggest payday of their career after five franchises entered the auction with a team purse of 120 million Indian rupees ($1.45 million) each.
The auction began with a bang as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) splurged 34 million Indian rupees — over a quarter of their purse — to sign left-handed batter Mandhana.
The 26-year-old is in the highest bracket in India’s central contract for women cricketers with an annual retainership of five million rupees.
Sciver-Brunt joined Mumbai Indians, coached by former England captain Charlotte Edwards, for 32 million rupees, 10 times more the highest salary in the women’s Hundred run by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
She shares the league’s most expensive overseas player’s honour with Gardner, currently the top-ranked T20 all-rounder, who joined Gujarat Giants for the same amount.
Delhi Capitals signed Australia captain Meg Lanning for 11 million rupees.
Bangalore put together an impressive line-up signing Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry, India wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine.
“It’s a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Devine,” Mike Hesson, RCB’s director of cricket, told reporters. “Smriti has got plenty of captaincy experience and is familiar with the Indian conditions so highly likely (she’ll be captain)”.
Mumbai Indians signed India captain Harmanpreet Kaur for 18 million rupees and immediately put her in charge of the side.
“It is a game-changer for all of us,” Kaur said of the auction in a video from the ongoing T20 World Cup in South Africa.
“This will entirely change women’s cricket not just in India. We all are looking forward to that.”
The five-team WPL, three of them owned by Indian Premier League franchises, will be played between March 4 to 26 in two venues in and around Mumbai.
($1 = 82.634 Indian rupees)