WPL 2024 Auction: RCB, DC and MI Assemble Strong Squads

All 5 franchises filled their available slots of players, here's a look at how they stack up after the #WPLAuction:

The WPL 2024 Auction on 9 December turned out to be a great event. A total of 30 slots had to be filled from the registered set of 165 players and that's why only the top of the cream got selected.

Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland and Indian uncapped all-rounder Kashvee Gautam became the most expensive players of this auction as they got picked up for INR 2 crores each. Shabnim Ismail and Vrinda Dinesh were two other players who saw bidding wars for their services as they got picked up fir INR 1.2 and 1.3 crore respectively.

All the teams filled their available slot of 18 players, and here we shall take a look at how all the teams stack up after the auction:

Gujarat Giants

• Players Bought: Phoebe Litchfield*, Meghna Singh, Trisha Poojitha, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Lauren Cheatle*, Kathryn Bryce*, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan

• Purse Utilized: INR 4.5 crore

• Purse Remaining: INR 1.45 crore

Hits: Gujarat Giants walked into the auction with an aim to strengthen their bowling attack, which was their main cause of their miseries last season and buy a couple of quality lower middle-order batters. The Giants did extremely well as they got hold of rising star Phoebe Litchfield and experienced veteran Veda Krishnamurthy to strength their middle-order.

In the bowling attack, they acquired two quality overseas pacers in Lauren Cheatle and Kathryn Bryce. Moreover, he addition of Bryce will allow Gujarat to field five overseas players in the XI as she is an Associate player. She is also a decent batter and that will strengthen their lower order further.

Misses: The lack of a quality wicketkeeper-batter hurt the Giants big time last season. And it looks very risky for them this time as well as there is no visible backup wicketkeeping option for Meg Lanning. Moreover, they failed to add experience to their spin attack as well. That still remains an area they could have improved in this auction but that us something they can probably manage with the available options as they have strengthened their pave attack massively. Now they just need to hope that Lanning stays fit throughout the tournament, so that they don't have to go hunting for a wicket-keeper in the middle of the tournament.

UP Warriorz

• Players Bought: Dani Wyatt*, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana

• Purse Utilized: 2.1 crore

• Purse Remaining: INR 1.90 crore

Hits: The acquisition of Dani Wyatt and Gouher Sultana was the only positive for the Warriorz in this auction - Both are experienced international players and will add a lot of value to their side as backup players. Although Sultana might still get games, it looks difficult for Wyatt to get any gametime unless one of the first team overseas players gets injured. But their addition has no doubt strengthened the team.

Misses: The Alyssa Healy-led side came very close to qualifying for the final last season until they lost the Playoff in a humiliating manner to Mumbai Indians. They won four while losing an equal number of matches in the league stage. It gives an idea that they were a bit inconsistent as a side, which came mainly due to the inexperienced players they had in their middle order and bowling attack. They were expected to address these issues in the auction this time but they haven't quite done that.

They had the second highest purse (INR 4 crore) remaining heading into this auction but at the end they spend only 2.1 crore to acquire five players. That was bizarre considering they could have acquired better players like Litchfield or Krishnamurthy, which would have addressed their middle-order issues.

The UP-based franchise needed some experienced and quality pacers as well. Instead, they have gone for an youngster like Saima Thakor. Poonam Khemnar and Vrinda Dinesh are two other young players they have bought. The former is a wrist spinner who can bat, whereas the latter is a talented batter. While they should be appreciated for investing on youth, experience is of utmost importance for winning a tournament like this and they don't have their all based covered as of now.

Delhi Capitals

• Players Bought: Annabel Sutherland*, Aparna Mondal, Ashwani Kumari

• Purse Utilized: INR 2.20 crores

• Purse Remaining: INR 5 Lakhs

Hits: Delhi Capitals had a dream run last season as they made it to the final by winning six out of their eight league games. They did lose to Mumbai Indians in the final but that wasn't just their day.

The management has retained their faith in the squad and that's why they went into the auction with only three slots to fill. They had the lowest Purse among all teams as well but they didn't hesitate at all to spend 90% of that to acquire the services of Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland.

Sutherland is a very talented player who bowls pace and is a hard-hitter in the middle-order. She not only picked up 23 wickets at an average of 12.69 in the recent WBBL season but also accumulated 288 runs, which sum up her all-round prowess. Since the Capitals have enough spinners in the squad, she has a high chance of displacing Jess Jonassen to slot into that No.6 role while donning new ball duties with the ball as well.

Apart from Sutherland, the Capitals were smart enough to get hold of a talented batter like Aparna Mondal and an equally good all-rounder like Ashwani Kumari to strengthen their bench. Now they look stronger than ever to claim the title that they missed last season.

Misses: NONE!! Literally NONE!!

Royal Challengers Bangalore

• Players Bought: Georgia Wareham*, Kate Cross*, Ekta Bisht, Shubha Satheesh, Sabbineni Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux*

• Purse Utilized: INR 2.30 crore

• Purse Remaining: INR 1.05 crore

Hits: RCB had one of the strongest squads last season but they underperformed somehow to finish fourth. They did show form towards the end of the season but it was already quite late by then. They did have minor chinks in their bowling attack last season, which they have fixed completely this time.

They have acquired another quality Indian seamer like Simran Bahadur to support Renuka Thakur at the other end. Apart from that, they have the experienced Kate Cross as a quality overseas pacers bowling option as well.

However, their biggest acquisition of all is probably that of Georgia Wareham. She isn't only a superb wrist-spinner with a proven track record in T20Is but also an excellent batter who performs consistently in the lower middle-order. Wareham has 44 T20I wickets to her name at an average of 15.97 and she scores at a strike-rate of 151.47 with the bat. RCB got hold of her for only INR 30 Lakhs, which is quite less for a player of her skillset.

Add to that the acquisition of Australian left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux, who is a master at containing batters, and it makes it clear how they aced their auction strategy. Things don't end here as they have picked up the experienced Ekta Bisht as well. Age may not be on her side but she delivered strong performances in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy recently. She should be a regular starter for RCB this season.

Misses: NONE that you can think of!

Mumbai Indians

• Players Bought: Shabnim Ismail*, Sajana S, Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer, Keerthana Balakrishnan

• Purse Utilized: INR 1.65 crore

• Purse Remaining: INR 45 Lakh

Hits: Mumbai Indians had the lowest Purse available among all teams going into this auction but that didn't deter them from pulling off a huge scoop to get hold of experienced South African pacer Shabnim Ismail for INR 1.2 crore. With this acquisition, they strengthened their overseas players’ arsenal massively.

Although Ismail might still warm the bench as there is no open slot for her in the XI. But her mere presence in the squad adds a lot of confidence. In case something goes wrong with Issy Wong, Ismail is always there to step up. Moreover, the young Indian pacers can learn a lot from the likes of Ismail. It will fasten their growth a lot.

Mumbai Indians bought four more players after that for a collective amount of just INR 45 Lakhs. But all four are talented and capable of delivering when the time comes. Among them, Sajana S is probably the most talented. The Kerala all-rounder isn't only a dependable off-spinner but also good with her batting on most occasions. Amandeep Kaur, Fatima Jaffer and Keerthana Balakrishnan also pack a punch but they will probably need two more seasons of grooming before making it to the XI.

Misses: Instead of spending so much on Ismail, MI could have looked to get more quality backup options for other key players like Hayley Mathews and Nat Sciver-Brunt. That is the only thing fans and pundits can complain of.