The inaugural edition of the WPL is scheduled between March 4 and 26 in Mumbai, with a total of 22 matches. Here’s all about the WPL auction, players, and more.
WPL auction: 409 players are up for grabs
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League is starting in under a month. Mumbai’s Brabourne and D.Y. Patil Stadiums are playing hosts to the WPL. In an inaugural WPL auction taking place at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on February 13, 409 players are up for grabs. A total of 1525 players registered but the list was pruned to 409. Among them, 246 players are from India and 163 are from overseas. Moreover, 202 are capped, 199 are uncapped and the remaining eight are from associate nations.
On January 25, the BCCI unveiled owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Capri Global, and Adani Group as the first five teams. The sale of the franchises searched BCCI for a total of 4,670 crore INR. Each of the five teams has a purse of 12 crores INR to spend on creating their teams.
WPL: More on the players up for the bid
Of the 409 players in the WPL auction, only 90 will be making it through. Additionally, 30 spots are for players from other nations. 24 players including Team India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Shefali Verma have slotted themselves in the highest reserve price of INR 50 Lakhs. Verma is the captain of India’s Under 19 team which recently won the U-19 T20 World Cup. Other players in the topmost bracket include Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma. 13 overseas players such as Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Deandra Dottin, and Sophie Ecclestone among others also slotted themselves in the highest bracket.