CHENNAI: As many as 409 players are set to go under the hammer in Mumbai on February 13 at the inaugural player auction ahead of the Women's Premier League. From a massive 1525 players registered for the auction, the BCCI shortlisted the aforementioned number of players for the auction. It includes 246 Indians and 163 overseas players.
As many as 24 players — 10 Indians — have registered themselves for the highest reserve price of Rs 50 lakh. They include India’s top seven from Smriti Mandhana through Harmanpreet Kaur till Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh. Among the overseas players, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Darcie Brown, Katherine and Natalie Sciver-Brunts, Deandra Dottin and Danni Wyatt have registered themselves for the highest price.
While it is no surprise that the rest of the India internationals, currently in South Africa, have listed themselves for Rs 40 lakh, the interesting bit is that some of the top overseas stars, especially all-rounders have also preferred not to opt for the highest price. The names include Shabnim Ismail, arguably the fastest bowler in the world, all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, West Indies skipper Hayley Mathews, Australia’s Tahlia McGrath — 2022 ICC T20I cricketer of the year — Beth Mooney, Megan Schutt, Alana King, England captain Heather Knight and recently retired South Africa internationals Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez.
At some level, it seems a smart decision. That the teams have only Rs 12 crore in their purse means not many are likely to go for massive prices. The players might not want to miss the chance of being a part of the WPL because of a higher reserve price. However, as has been the case with the men’s auction, overseas pace bowlers and fast-bowling all-rounders are likely to be picked ahead of specialist batters or wicketkeeper batters.
The five teams will be looking to pick 18 players each, adding up to a total of 90 players, including 30 overseas slots. Each team is allowed to play five foreign players (one among them will be from an associate nation). It means among the eight players from the associate nations, at least five of them are definitely going to be picked in the auction. UAE U19 stars Theertha Satish, Mahika Gaur, Vaishanve Mahesh and the senior team skipper Esha Oza are likely to attract some bids in the auction. The same might be the case of left-arm pacer Tara Norris, who plays for the USA, and Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham, who has taken part in the T20 Challenge previously. Hong Kong’s Ka Ying Chan and Netherlands’ Sterre Kalis are the other two players on the list.
Numbers that matter
409 - From 1525 players, a total number of players shortlisted to go under the hammer
246 - No. of Indians in the auction
163 - No. of overseas players in the auction, 8 of whom are from associate nations
90 - Total no. of slots available in five teams, including 30 for overseas players
28 - Australia tops the list with the most number of overseas players in the auction, with England to follow (27)
24 - No. of players under the highest reserve price of Rs 50 lakh, including 10 Indians and 14 overseas players
When is the auction? Feb 13, Mumbai, 2.30 PM
Tournament dates: Mar 4-26, 2023