From one no.18 to another, Virat Kohli announced Smriti Mandhana as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 on Saturday (February 18).
RCB roped in Mandhana for a whopping Rs 3.4 crore in the just concluded WPL auctions as the star southpaw became the most expensive player in the bidding war.
RCB released a video on Twitter where Kohli was seen announcing Mandhana as captain of the Bangalore-based franchise.
“From one No. 18 to another, from one skipper to another, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis announce RCB’s captain for the Women’s Premier League - Smriti Mandhana.” RCB posted in its official Twitter handle.
“Now it’s time for Another No.18 to lead very special RCB team in WPL. Yes, We are talking about Smriti Mandhana, Go well Smriti. You have the support best team and best fans in the world.” said Kohli while congratulating Mandhana.
Just after acquiring Mandhana’s services in the auction, RCB director of cricket Mike Hesson said: “Smriti got plenty of captaincy experience. She is one of the players who know the conditions well, so that’s highly likely (Mandhana leading the side).”
Here's the video..
RCB garnered the most eyeballs in the WPL auction as they bought in India's star batter Mandhana to mark the most expensive deal of the day. RCB didn't settle there as they were in a different mood altogether. From Ellyse Perry to Sophie Devine to Heather Knight to Dane van Niekerk, RCB grabbed them all. The Bengaluru-based franchise also picked up some exciting local talents before availing the services of the likes of Megan Schutt, Knight and Van Niekerk towards the end of the auction.
Let's have a look at Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) full squad
1. Smriti Mandhana (India): — Rs. 3.4 Crores
2. Sophie Devine (New Zealand): — Rs 50 Lakhs
3. Ellyse Perry (Australia): — Rs. 1.7 Crores
4. Renuka Thakur (India): — Rs 1.5 Crores
5. Richa Ghosh (India): — Rs 1.9 Crores
6. Erin Burns (Australia): — Rs 30 Lakhs
7. Disha Kasat (India) - Rs 10 lakh
8. Indrani Roy (India) - Rs 10 lakh
9. Shreyanka Patil (India) - Rs 10 lakh
10. Kanika Ahuja (India) - Rs 35 lakh
11. Asha Shobana (India) - Rs 10 lakh
12. Heather Knight (England): Rs 40 Lakh
13. Dane van Niekerk (South Africa): Rs 30 Lakh
14. Preeti Bose (India): Rs 30 Lakh
15. Poonam Khemnar (India): Rs 10 Lakh
16. Komal Zanzad (India): Rs 25 Lakh
17. Megan Schutt (Australia): Rs 40 Lakh
18. Sahana Pawar (India): Rs 10 Lakh
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