The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will commence on March 04 (Saturday) with a blockbuster game between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. There is a palpable amount of excitement pertaining to the WPL as he it is primed to elevate the standard of women's cricket, not just in India but around the globe.
In the auction, five franchises - Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Gujarat Giants (GG) and UP Warrioz (UPW) - utilised their purse of Rs 12 crore strategically and built a strong roster to compete for the title.
When it comes to the franchise that shelled out the most money during the auction, MI and UPW jointly occupy the top spot. Both the Mumbai-based franchise and UP-based franchise shelled out a sum of Rs 12 crore to acquire the services of 17 and 18 players.
When it comes to the franchise that constructed the cheapest roster, DC take the honour. The Delhi-based franchise shelled out a sum of Rs 11.65 crore to acquire the services of 18 players.
Meanwhile, a total of 87 players were sold in the WPL auction, including 30 overseas cricketers. The five franchises combined to spend a sum of Rs 59.50 crore during the bidding war to acquire some of the best talents in women's cricket. Also, a total 362 players went unsold in the WPL auction.
All the 22 matches of the WPL's inaugural season will be played across two venues - Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium - in Mumbai. The final of the tournament is scheduled to be held on March 26.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning, Alice Capsey, Shikha Pandey, Jess Jonassen, Laura Harris, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Titas Sadhu, Jasia Akhter, Tara Norris, Aparna Mondal, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp
Gujarat Giants: Ash Gardner, Sneh Rana, Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Sophia Dunkley, Deandra Dottin, Hurley Gala, Sushma Verma, Tanuja Kanwar, Harleen Deol, Ashwani Kumari, S Meghana, Mansi Joshi, D Hemalatha, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Shabnam Shakil
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Amanjot Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Heather Graham, Issy Wong, Chloe Tryon, Priyanka Bala, Dhara Gujjar, Saika Ishaque, Humairaa Kaazi, Sonam Yadav, Jintimani Kalita, Neelam Bisht, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Amelia Kerr
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Megan Schutt, Kanika Ahuja, Erin Burns, Dane van Niekerk, Preeti Bose, Komal Zanzad, Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Shobana, Poonam Khemnar, Sahana Pawar, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh
Up Warriorz: Alyssa Healy (c), Deepti Sharma (vc), Grace Harris, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell, Parshavi Chopra, S Yashasri, Laxmi Yadav, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail
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