The inaugural Women's Premier League auction has officially come to a close, with the five franchises in the competition spending close to a combined $2.5 million (AUD) on 14 Australian cricketers.
India's Smriti Mandhana received the highest bid of the night, auctioned to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for around $593,000. The 26-year-old has previously played for the Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, while also featuring in 29 Test matches for India.
All-rounder Ash Gardner made history as the first Australian auctioned off in the WPL, heading to the Gujarat Giants for $558,000. Gardner, a star of Australia's recent T20 World Cup side, was the Weber WBBL Player of the Year and the subject of heavy bidding between multiple franchises.
Ending up at the Giants, Gardner will now be coached by former Australian vice-captain Rachael Haynes, who was unveiled as Gujarat's maiden head coach earlier in the month.
Australian star Beth Mooney attracted plenty of attention too, also heading to the Giants for a fee of around $349,000, while Elyse Perry will be playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore for $297,000.
Absolute insanity overnight in the #WPLAuction. Revolutionary for womenโs sport. Ash Gardner the highest paid Aussie at 3.2 crore, or $558k in dollarydoos. I donโt think a lot of Aussies realise how huge the WPL (or indeed the WWC) is gonna be.
— Daany Saeed (@daanysaeed) February 13, 2023
448 players were up for auction on Monday in Mumbai, but just 87 of those were selected by one of the five franchises. Each franchise was able to select six overseas players, while given a budget of just over $2 million Australian dollars to purchase a minimum of 15 players.
Of the 28 Australians up for auction, 14 were selected.
The tournament will get underway on Saturday, March 4, with all 22 matches set to be played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai or Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
