3 Indian players who could have listed their base price at ₹50 lakh for WPL 2023 auction
The excitement for the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) is building and now, the BCCI has named 409 players from 15 countries that will go under the hammer.
The inaugural WPL auction will take place in Mumbai on February 13. As per the BCCI, they received 1525 registrations and had to trim it down to 246 Indians and 163 overseas players.
The highest base price is INR 50 lakh, with 14 overseas and 10 Indian players listing themselves at the highest base price. This list includes Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Ecclestone, Sophie Devine and Deandra Dottin.
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However, there are several other Indian players who could have listed themselves at INR 50 lakh but opted to be conservative. Here in this list, we take a look at three Indian players who could have registered themselves at INR 50 lakh at the WPL Auction:
#3 Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad has listed her base price at INR 40 lakh but could have entered the elite bracket. She is one of the key members of the Indian side and her left-arm spin will be very handy in the inaugural season of the WPL.
Since all the matches will be played in Mumbai across two venues, Gayakwad, with her experience and skills, could start a bidding war. As far as her numbers are concerned, she has picked up 58 wickets in 51 matches at an excellent economy rate of 6.13. It will be interesting to see which team picks her as she is a sure starter in the final playing XI.
#2 Kiran Navgire
Kiran Navgire is a serious power-hitter and grabbed all the headlines in last season’s Women’s T20 Challenge. She is a serious performer in the domestic circuit and even received a call-up to the Indian side for the tour of England.
She has listed her base price at INR 30 lakh, but such is the demand for a power-hitter that she could have been in the INR 50 lakh bracket. Since moving to Nagaland, she has been a consistent and prolific performer.
She scored 525 runs at a strike rate of 173. Apart from this, she holds the highest individual score by an Indian batter in T20s when she slammed an unbeaten 162 against Arunachal Pradesh.
Her conservative base price could start a bidding war at the upcoming WPL auction.
#1 Devika Vaidya
All-rounders are prized possessions in T20s and hence, India women’s leg-spin all-rounder Devika Vaidya could go on to become the MVP in the inaugural WPL season. She made a comeback to India’s T20 side after a long hiatus from the game and has started making all the right moves.
A top-order batter during her initial days, Devika has adjusted and adapted and is now a middle-order batter. She is also more than handy with the ball and can pick up regular wickets.