WPL Auction: Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma draw huge bids; teams splurge money on keeper-batters

The bidding war at the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai is on fire as each of the five franchises are ready to break the bank for some of the top names in the game. While Smriti Mandhana created history in a way by becoming the first player ever to be sold in the WPL auction, a lot of other stars from the Indian team have drawn huge money as well. From skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to all-rounder Deepti Sharma, from Sunday game’s hero Jemimah Rodrigues to Under-19 T20 WC winning captain Shafali Verma among others are making headlines too.

Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 1.8 crores, whereas, all-rounder Deepti Sharma was purchased by UP Warriorz for a fee worth INR 2.6 crores. Fast bowler Renuka Singh, who emerged on the international scene a couple of years back only, went for INR 1.5 crores to the already star-studded RCB setup.

Following the marquee list, India’s young guns like Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma also went for hefty prices. Rodrigues and Verma – two of whom known for their batting exploits had a few franchises run after them. However, much to the delight of Delhi fans both will be playing for the same camp (Delhi Capitals) in the maiden edition of WPL that begins on March 4th in Mumbai. Delhi looked like breaking the bank for both these future superstars asJemimah Rodrigues was bought for INR 2.2 crores, whereas, Shafali Verma’s bid touched INR 2 crores.

Talking about the all-rounders, Pooja Vastrakar and youngster Harleen Deol went for 60 and 40 lacs, respectively to Gujarat Giants. On the other hand, the Indian keeper-batters had gone for some heavy bucks too. While Mumbai Indians splurged INR 1.5 crores for the 22-year-old Yastika Bhatia, Bangalore-based franchise went two steps ahead and bought in-form Richa Gosh for INR 1.9 crores.

Since the day is long and a lot of players are yet to come under the hammer, it would be interesting to see who goes where. Till then, have a look at the list given below of the top Indian players are their new teams.

List of top Indian players sold at the WPL Auction so far -