BENGALURU: Simran Shaikh was bought for her base price of Rs 10 lakh by UP Warriorz at the inaugural Women's Premier League auction. A resident of Mumbai's Dharavi, Asia's biggest slums, Simran's poor returns in the 2023 season meant she was released by the franchise and didn't find a team for the second edition as she went unsold.
Her father, Jahid Ali, an electrician, was in disbelief when Simran was bought by UP in February last year. Almost a year and 10 months later, Jahid is over the moon as her daughter has become the costliest buy at the WPL mini auction in Bengaluru on Sunday. She was bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs 1.90 crore.
"She comes from Dharavi. If you look at it from the financial point of view, it is great for her that she is getting the opportunity once again. She has worked extremely hard for this and the results are there for everyone to see. It is important in terms of financial stability," Shaikh's coach and former India international Sunetra Paranjape told this daily. Along with Paranjape, the Giants' head coach, Michael Klinger praised the journey of his player. "If we can change her life, not just for her, but for her family, it's fantastic. Mind you, this is not a charity given to her, she has earned this. She has put on some great performances in recent times. It is great to hear that this can change her life," he told this daily in an exclusive interview.
TN teenager third-costliest player
Along with Shaikh, Tamil Nadu's G Kamalini also fetched one of the highest bids. Mumbai Indians paid a whopping Rs 1.60 cr for the youngster to make her third costliest buy. West Indies superstar Deandra Dottin was among the highest-paid overseas players at Rs 1.70 cr and joined Shaikh at Giants. Royal Challengers Bengaluru persisted with a bid for Uttarakhand's Prema Rawat as she joined the defending champions for Rs 1.20 crore.