A total of 165 cricketers – 104 Indians and 61 overseas – are in contention to be picked up for the 30 slots available (9 overseas) across the board. (PTI/Jio Cinemas/WPL)The three teams that featured in the play-offs of the inaugural edition Women’s Premier League – champions Mumbai Indians, finalists Delhi Capitals, and third-placed UP Warriorz – have all opted to trust the core group of players that delivered for them. A measure of that lies in the fact that MI and DC’s playing XIs in the final have been fully retained, while UPW have released just one player from their starting group. These three teams can walk into the auction in Mumbai on Saturday safe in the knowledge that they need just minor reinforcements for the next season.
And so the attention will be on Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore as the franchises go to the auction tables to get their teams in shape for the second edition. RCB struggled for most of the season but eventually finished above the Giants on the points table on net run rate. Both teams just managed two wins out of the eight matches they played.
Giants released 11 players from their squad, and require a massive rebuild. To their credit, RCB didn’t go heavy on the chopping blocks as their squad had a good look on paper before the season began and suffered from a poor start that they couldn’t recover from in time. They released seven players, and have placed their trust in the Indian core that saw the likes of Shreyanka Patil and Kanika Ahuja emerge into the limelight and receive their Indian caps since.
A total of 165 cricketers – 104 Indians and 61 overseas – are in contention to be picked up for the 30 slots available (9 overseas) across the board. The teams have an additional Rs 1.50 crore added to their purse for this auction from the Rs 12 crore that was available last time.
Gujarat Giants
Purse available: Rs 5.95 crore
Slots to fill: 10 (Overseas: 3)
Retained Players: Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwer.
Released Players: Annabel Sutherland*, Ashwani Kumari, Georgia Wareham*, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth*, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley*, Sushma Verma.
Gujarat Giants pic.twitter.com/uDgj2mhnLi
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) October 20, 2023
The Giants had an interesting strategy in the 2023 auction as they went heavy on overseas players at the start and trusted their knowledge of domestic talent (with Mithali Raj and Nooshin Al Khadeer in their decision-making group). While the logic made sense, they were eventually left short on Indian firepower, which ended up costing them. With very few high-end capped Indian players in the auction mix this time, that will be an area they wouldn’t be able to fix immediately. But with Mooney, Wolvaardt, Gardner, Deol, Hemalatha and Rana, the Giants have a good batting core and will be focussed on building their bowling options. With three overseas slots available, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Giants go big for a pacer like Shabnim Ismail and one among the Aussie wrist-spinners in King and Jade-Wellington. They are also likely to get their pick in the India A or U19 talent that is available.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Purse available: Rs 3.35 crore
Slots to fill: 7 (Overseas: 3)
Retained Players: Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry*, Heather Knight*, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Sophie Devine*, Smriti Mandhana.
Released Players: Dané Van Niekerk*, Erin Burns*, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt*, Poonam Khemnar, Preeti Bose, Sahana Pawar.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pic.twitter.com/QucFcCVSEt
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) October 20, 2023
RCB come into the auction table with a change in their think-tank as Luke Williams has replaced Ben Sawyers as the head coach. Williams recently led the Adelaide Strikers to back-to-back WBBL titles and has a pedigree in the franchise cricket world. Despite their disappointing opening season, RCB did well in giving the platform for the domestic talent to shine and they have retained their superstar firepower in the overseas department. With their top-order in good shape, RCB will look to build a good bowling attack with overseas options while focusing on domestic batting talent. Don’t be surprised if Williams goes hard for Amanda Jade-Wellington, the leggie with Adelaide Strikers who had a great WBBL campaign. Having let go of Megan Schutt, RCB also have the option of bringing in an overseas pace-bowling allrounder.
UP Warriorz
Purse available: Rs 4.0 crore
Slots to fill: 5 (Overseas: 1)
Retained Players: Alyssa Healy*, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris*, Kiran Navgire, Lauren Bell*, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S. Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone*, Tahlia Mcgrath*, Laxmi Yadav.
Released Players: Devika Vaidya, Shabnim Ismail*, Shivali Shinde, Simran Shaikh.
UP Warriorz pic.twitter.com/JoY0ejCFfx
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) October 20, 2023
On more than one occasion during the season, Healy said that while winning matches was important, her team was keen to give a platform to young Indian talent. In Parshavi, Shweta and Yashasri, three U19 World Cup winners got their chances. Expect them to look for a few more such Indian talents as they have just one overseas slot left and a good purse to work with. One of the concern areas for UPW was the options with Indian batting talent as they were inconsistent. They could look at bringing in S Meghana to complement Healy. They have released Ismail who they had to bench because of their overseas combinations, so could look for a cheaper foreign backup.
Purse available: Rs 2.1 crore
Slots to fill: 5 (Overseas: 1)
Retained Players: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr*, Chloe Tryon*, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews*, Humairaa Kaazi, Isabelle Wong*, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver*, Pooja Vastrakar, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia.
Released Players: Dhara Gujjar, Heather Graham*, Neelam Bisht, Sonam Yadav.
Mumbai Indians pic.twitter.com/MamBibgoFG
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) October 20, 2023
Even before the season began, MI stood apart from the other teams. The Charlotte Edwards-coached side picked up just one Australian player from the auction while the world champions were in high demand elsewhere, understandably. Fast forward to this edition and they have released the only Australian they had in their squad (Heather Graham, who played no part in the opening campaign). It is difficult to see any holes in the MI squad that is filled with all-rounders, but perhaps one of the many Aussie pacers who can bat might interest them to rotate with Issy Wong. Their lower-order was barely required to bat in the season, but it could use a boost. MI would mainly be on the lookout for upcoming Indian talents, with the likes of Mannat Kashyap available. And in leg-spinner Prakashika Naik, they could target a Mumbai player who had a strong domestic season. Should they be available at affordable prices, MI could also throw in a cheeky bid for Chamari Athapaththu or Danni Wyatt to bolster their opening options.
Purse available: Rs 2.25
Slots to fill: 3 (Overseas: 1)
Retained Players: Alice Capsey*, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen*, Laura Harris*, Marizanne Kapp*, Meg Lanning*, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu.
Released Players: Jasia Akhter, Tara Norris*, Aparna Mondal.
Delhi Captials pic.twitter.com/qcewKz9JTo
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) October 20, 2023
For the most part, DC can watch the auction unfold with little pressure, having released just three players. DC coach Jonathan Batty told the Indian Express that captain Lanning – who has retired from international cricket – is very much part of the plans for this season and that is probably the biggest news for them before this auction. Batty also spoke about the auction, saying: “It was so unique. I have never experienced anything like that in my life. It was fascinating. It was exhilarating and a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how different teams have different opinions on the players. It’s fascinating when you see two teams bidding for one player. Auction dynamics are fascinating, it can change in seconds.”
The one area where they would be looking to improve without doubt is the wicket-keeping slot. Taniya Bhatia is one of the best in the country when it comes to glovework but her contributions with the bat are not significant and DC could look to add someone like Uma Chetry as an option. There is also the temptation of going for England’s Amy Jones but their overseas contingent is already strong. An Indian batting all-rounder could also be an addition DC would look at.
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