Sophie Ecclestone, with an opening bid of 50 lakhs, was sold to UP Warriorz for 1.80 Crore.
Top-ranked T20I bowler Ecclestone is a seasoned campaigner with an economy of 5.90. The slow left-arm orthodox spinner finished with four wickets in three games in the Women's T20 Challenge last year and can operate at full throttle on the spin-friendly Indian pitches.
A decent striker of the ball, Ecclestone — who was also the runners-up with Sydney Sixers at the Big Bash League — can contribute in the lower order.
She's currently in top form, having helped England sail to victory over West Indies in their 2023 ICC T20 World Cup opener on Saturday. She picked 3/23 including the wickets of Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher and Zaida James.
The inaugural edition of the WPL will be played in Mumbai from 4 March to 26 March. A total of 22 matches will be played, with the Brabourne Stadium and D.Y. Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament comprising Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
A total of 448 players are going under the hammer today in the auction in Mumbai of which 246 are Indians and 163 are overseas players. The total number of capped players are 202, uncapped players are 199. A maximum of 90 slots are available with the five teams, with 30 being slotted for overseas players.
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