WPL Season 2 Auction: Bid on 165 Players for 30 Slots – Top Picks and Auction Process Revealed
The auction for the second season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is set to take place today in Mumbai, scheduled for December 9th. A total of 165 players have registered for the auction, including 104 Indian and 61 foreign players. Among the foreign players, 15 are from associate nations (not having Test status accredited by the ICC).
As of now, only 30 slots out of 165 are vacant across the five teams, with 9 slots reserved for foreign players. The purse for each team is ₹17.65 crores, with the Mumbai Indians having the lowest budget of ₹2.1 crores. The second season of WPL is expected to kick off in the third week of February, with the possibility of concluding by the end of March.
Gujarat Giants Lead in Purse Amount
Gujarat Giants have the highest purse amount among the teams. A team can have a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players. The purse limit for teams is ₹15 crores, meaning they cannot spend more than this amount to buy players.
Before today’s auction, the teams retained players from Season 1. Gujarat Giants managed to save ₹5.95 crores, buying ten players. UP Warriors and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought 5 and 7 players, respectively. UP Warriors have ₹4 crores, and RCB has ₹3.35 crores left in their purse. The reigning champions, Mumbai Indians, have the lowest remaining purse of ₹2.1 crores, purchasing five players. Runner-up Delhi Capitals have ₹2.25 crores left, buying only three players.
Two Players in the Base Price of 50 Lakhs
The base price for players in the WPL auction ranges from ₹10 lakhs to ₹50 lakhs. Currently, only two players have a base price of ₹50 lakhs. Among them are West Indies’ Deandra Dottin and Australia’s Kim Garth. The base price for four players is ₹40 lakhs, including England’s wicketkeeper Emily Jones, South Africa’s fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, Australia’s all-rounder Annabel Sutherland, and Georgia Wareham.
Sri Lanka’s Captain in the 30 Lakhs Base Price Category
Sri Lanka’s captain, Chamari Atapattu, is part of the players in the 30 lakhs base price category. No team has shown interest in her for this season. Players from the previous season who were not retained, such as Veda Krishnamurthy, Danielle Wyatt, Faf du Plessis, Lee Tahuhu, and Tammy Beaumont, also remain in the 30 lakhs base price category.
Players Auctioned in 21 Sets
In the final round of the auction, players were distributed into capped and uncapped categories. They were further divided into sets based on their roles as batters, all-rounders, wicketkeepers, fast bowlers, and spinners. The auctioning of players occurred in 21 sets.
Which Name will be Called First?
In the first set, a total of 9 players, including England’s Danielle Wyatt, Australia’s Meg Lanning, India’s Smriti Mandhana, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Priya Punia, Poonam Raut, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield, and Naomi Stalenberg, have their names up for auction. One player from this set will have their name called first in the bidding process.
