13 February,2023 05:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Women`s Premier League (Pic Courtesy: wplt20.com)
The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 mega auction in Mumbai saw some very intense bidding for marquee players as well as fairly new names. There were several favourites even before the players went under the hammer.
India opener and batting mainstay Smriti Mandhana broke the bank early as she went on to become the first pick in the history of Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 Auction, snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a staggering 3.40 crore INR.
The 26-year-old, who is currently part of the Indian team in South Africa for the Women's T20 World Cup, saw her spark a bidding contest between Mumbai Indians and Bengaluru franchise early on in the auction.
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As the bidding war intensified on a giant screen alongside the rest of her teammates, the gritty left-handed batter looked ecstatic, with the Women in Blue leaping and cheering with joy. If reports are to be believed, Mandhana is likely to lead the Bangalore franchise.
âJoin us in welcoming the first Royal Challenger, Smriti Mandhana! Welcome to RCB,' the franchise shared a tweet welcoming the Indian vice-captain in their squad. âNamaskara Bengaluru,' replied Mandhana.
"Everyone knows Mandhana and Perry, we were pretty committed to the couple of people we wanted to get. we're very happy to get such quality players. It's a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Devine. Smriti has got plenty of captaincy experience and is familiar with the Indian conditions so highly likely (she'll be captain)," said Mike Hesson, who is the Director of Cricket in RCB, in a media conference.
Besides Mandhana, captain Harmanpreet Kaur was amongst the big buys in the first lot of the auction, after Mumbai Indians snapped her up for 1.8 crore INR. Aggressive middle-order batswoman and off-break bowler Ashleigh Gardner became the second-most expensive player to be bought at 3.2 crore INR by the Gujarat Giants.
