Following a successful first season, the second instalment of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will, in a way, commence on 9 December – not with the cricketing side of things, but with the business side. The five teams will meet for the auction where a total of 30 players can be sold, whilst a maximum of Rs 17.65 crores can be spent.
Before the auction, we take a look at where each team stands, and what they need to do tomorrow to accomplish a near-perfect accumulation of players.
1. Delhi Capitals
Purse Left – Rs 2.25 crore
Slots Available – 3 (1 Overseas)
Retained Players – Jemimah Rodrigues, Laura Harris, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Sneha Deepthi, Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Poonam Yadav.
Potential Auction Strategy –
Having narrowly missed out on the title last season, Delhi Capitals are among the only two teams – alongside defending champions Mumbai Indians – who don’t have glaring weaknesses in their team.
In Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning and Alice Capsey, the Capitals have a formidable top-order. Albeit, considering Jess Jonassen was not at her best last season, they could accommodate another overseas all-rounder.
In Shikha Pandey and Marizanne Kapp, Lanning’s team boasts of two potent seamers who took 19 wickets between them last season. But for the spin department, they could opt to find a new partner for Radha Yadav.
Most importantly, they are very likely to spend money on a new wicketkeeper after Taniyaa Bhatia’s underwhelming return in WPL 2023, which saw her scoring five runs in nine matches.
Possible Targets –
Among the overseas all-rounders, Delhi Capitals could join the potential bidding war for Deandra Dottin. The West Indies all-rounder has played 127 T20Is, and is equally competent with the bat and the ball.
However, with multiple teams expected to compete for Dottin’s services, Delhi could also target Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham.
Sutherland, the 22-year-old Australian, has been in sublime form, having picked up eight wickets and scored 130 runs in her last five appearances at the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). In that same competition, fellow Australian scalped four wickets in her last two matches. Both players have set their base price at Rs 40 lakh.
As for the Indian wicketkeeper, uncapped youngster Uma Chetry is a viable option, who scored 47 runs in her last two matches against England A. Should they opt for an experienced campaigner, Sushma Verma fits the bill perfectly, having played 63 international matches for India across all formats.
2. Gujarat Giants
Purse Left – Rs 5.95 crore
Slots Available – 10 (3 Overseas)
Retained Players – Laura Wolvaardt, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer, Beth Mooney, Shabnim Shakil.
Potential Auction Strategy –
Having released the majority of their squad, and retained only eight players, Gujarat Giants have opted for the ultimate ‘F5’ their system could allow. Having the biggest purse among all teams, it is certain the Giants will also bid for – and possibly – buy the most number of players.
English batter Sophia Dunkley has been released after scoring only 121 runs in six matches last season, while Sabbineni Meghana and Sushma Verma have also been allowed to let go. Accordingly, Beth Mooney’s team will be after both Indian and overseas batters.
They also have a discernible fragility in their pace department, after both Kim Garth and Mansi Joshi were released. Here as well, we could see Gujarat adding both an Indian and an overseas option to their squad. Lastly, they could also add an overseas spin cover to be a backup for Ashleigh Gardner.
Possible Targets –
At 32, and having played 99 T20I matches, England’s Tammy Beaumont is among the more experienced players featuring on the auction list. Albeit she is not enjoying the best phase of her career, an otherwise inexperienced Gujarat team could do with a reliable figure at the top of the order.
Among the young overseas batters, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield is a decent option, having already scored a half-century in her five-matches-long T20I career.
Experience can also be found in the Indian names, with Punam Raut being a prime example. The 34-year-old, who has set her base price at Rs 30 lakh, scored 367 runs in 10 matches in the recently concluded Women’s Senior T20 Trophy. Having scored 329 runs in seven matches in that same competition, Poonam Khemnar can also be picked.
Among the Indian pacers who did well in that competition is Kashvee Gautam. Despite being only 20 years of age, she scalped 12 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 4.14 runs per over. Simran Dil Bahadur is another alternative, with five wickets in four matches.
Lastly, for the overseas spin options, Gujarat could chase Sophie Day and Amanda-Jade Wellington. The former was the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 WBBL with 27 wickets, whilst the latter finished third with 23 wickets.
3. Mumbai Indians
Purse Left – Rs 2.10 crore
Slots Available – 5 (1 Overseas)
Retained Players – Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kaur, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong, Jintimani Kalita, Nat Sciver, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Yastika Bhatia, Saika Ishaque.
Potential Auction Strategy –
The Mumbai Indians camp will be the calmest of all five teams going into the auction, having a perfectly functioning first-choice XI in place. Accordingly, they will predominantly look for backups.
With Indian all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Jintimani Kalita not having a significant contribution last season, scoring 29 runs between them in WPL 2023 with no wickets to show for, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team might add a couple of Indian players who have the potential to be more of service.
Whilst Mumbai have an excellent overseas seamer in Issy Wong, who scalped 15 wickets last season, they do lack an Indian seam option who can be trusted throughout the competition.
Possible Targets –
Known for their scouting prowess, it will not be a surprise if Mumbai have Gautami Naik on their list of targets. The 25-year-old all-rounder was excellent with the bat in the Women’s Senior T20 Trophy, scoring 264 runs in seven matches. Devika Vaidya – with 17 T20Is and an Asian Games gold medal to her name – is another candidate for the Indian all-round role.
As for the Indian pacers, Mumbai’s targets could overlap with those of Gujarat. Kashvee Gautam can hence be a player much sought after, while Uttar Pradesh’s Soni Yadav and Punjab’s Komalpreet Kour are the other options.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Purse Left – Rs 3.35 crore
Slots Available – 7 (3 Overseas)
Retained Players – Disha Kasat, Smriti Mandhana, Asha Shobana, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Kanika Ahuja, Sophie Devine, Shreyanka Patil, Indrani Roy, Richa Ghosh, Renuka Singh
Potential Auction Strategy –
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s scenario is a tad bizarre, where they have plenty of slots available but not as much money, considering they have retained some expensive acquisitions in Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry.
With their batting order faltering last season, where only Perry and Sophie Devine could cross the 250-run mark, RCB could go after both Indian and overseas batters.
Albeit they have retained Heather Knight, the English all-rounder was not convincing in WPL 2023, while another overseas all-round option, Erin Burns has been released. The latter’s Australian teammate, speedster Megan Schutt has also been given the departure slip.
Understandably, an overseas all-rounder and an overseas pacer could be high on Bangalore’s agenda. They could also go after an Indian spinner after releasing Preeti Bose.
Possible Targets –
A self-proclaimed RCB loyalist, Danni Wyatt could be on the team’s radar. Being a trusted figure who also has form on her side, having scored 75 runs in a T20I against India recently, the English player has set her base price at Rs 30 lakh.
Punam Raut and Poonam Khemnar – whose domestic exploits we have already mentioned – could be the targets from Indian options. RCB could also add local flavour with Vrinda Dinesh – a 22-year-old batter from Karnataka with immense potential, who has done a fairly decent job for India A.
Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu was 2023 WBBL’s second-highest run-scorer with 552 runs, whilst she also has 40 T20I wickets to her name – making her the best possible candidate for the overseas all-round slot. Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham can be alternatives.
Among the pacers who were on song in WBBL were Lauren Cheatle – with 21 wickets in 14 matches, and Nicola Hancock – with 23 wickets in 17 matches. Both can be on RCB’s radar.
Lastly, for the Indian spin option, RCB could select anyone from the three top performers in the Women’s Senior T20 Trophy – Prema Rawat (16 wickets in 10 matches), Ekta Bisht (15 wickets in 10 matches), Prakashika Naik (13 wickets in 10 matches).
5. UP Warriorz
Purse Left – Rs 4 crore
Slots Available – 5 (1 Overseas)
Retained Players – Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath.
Potential Auction Strategy –
The Warriorz has an excellent overseas all-rounder in Tahlia McGrath, two brilliant batting options in Grace Harris and Alyssa Healy, and a remarkable spinner in Sophie Ecclestone. Alongside these four foreigners, they have a decent Indian core which includes Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Kiran Navgire.
What they do need now is an Indian batter to support Navgire, an Indian pacer and an Indian all-rounder. Should they get all bases covered and still have money left, UP could secure an overseas pace cover.
Possible Targets –
Being among the top two of the three leading run-scorers in Women’s Senior T20 Trophy, Punam Raut and Poonam Khemnar could be on UP Warriorz’s wishlist as well. A more economical alternative could be Jasia Akhter, who scored 187 runs in 10 matches.
Alongside Kashvee Gautam, 32-year-old Komal Zanzad could be a viable pace alternative.
Karnataka’s Prathyusha Challuru, Uttar Pradesh’s Meghna Singh and Gautami Naik could be the targets from Indian all-rounders.
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