5 players who were unlucky to go unsold in WPL Auction 2023
Over the years, the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction has thrown in some huge surprises and the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) auction has done no different on Monday, February 13.
While quite a few of the occurrences were on the expected lines, there were still a few decisions that left pundits and fans shell-shocked. For instance, a few top international players who were expected to go big at the WPL 2023 auction were simply ignored by the franchises.
On that note, let's look at five such international stars who failed to land a WPL deal, much to the surprise of the cricketing landscape.
#1 Alana King
One of the biggest surprises of the inaugural WPL auction 2023 was the disinterest shown by the franchises in Australia's Alana King. Since her international debut, she has become an important part of the Australian side and with leg spinners being a hot commodity, it is quite surprising that the five franchises ignored her.
She was impressive in the recently concluded Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), picking up 17 wickets from 13 appearances at a brilliant economy of 5.91. She is currently a part of Australia's T20 World Cup squad, going on in South Africa.
#2 Dani Wyatt
Dani Nicole Wyatt, one of the best batters in the English team, was amongst the unfortunate ones who missed out on a WPL gig. Wyatt, who has represented England in 139 T20Is, has reason to be disappointed, considering that she has more than 2000 runs under her belt.
Over the years, she has delivered some sensational performances for her national side and is currently ranked 16th in the ICC's rankings for women's batters. Wyatt has also done well in Indian conditions, and thus her being unsold is a shocker.
#3 Suzie Bates
Suzie Bates, the experienced New Zealand all-rounder, surprisingly went unsold at the WPL auction 2023 and this was something that not many pundits saw coming.
Bates, who has tons of experience in both international and franchise cricket, has featured in 140 T20Is. She has scored 3683 runs and picked up 55 wickets along the way.
Bates has a remarkable economy rate of 6.60, which makes her an exciting package in the shortest format of the game. She is ranked seventh as far as the ICC rankings for batters are concerned. Unfortunately, for her, this was not enough for her to land a WPL contract.
#4 Laura Wolvaardt
South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, who is ranked ninth in the ICC Women's Rankings for batters, was also ignored by five franchises at the WPL auction 2023.
Wolvaardt, who is the top-ranked player in ODIs, is only 23 years of age and has already achieved so much in the game. The stylish opener has played in 48 T20Is, scoring 867 runs at a pretty decent average of 27.96.
She has done well not only for her country but also for the various franchises that she has played for in leagues like the Women's Big Bash and the Women's Hundred. Perhaps what went against Wolvaardt was her underwhelming T20I strike rate of 108.91.
#5 Sune Luus
Sune Luus, who was recently in the news after being named as South Africa's captain for the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup, couldn't land a deal either.
It was not something that many saw coming, since the former South African captain has heaps of experience in the international arena. She has represented South Africa 97 times in the shortest format, scoring more than 1000 runs.
This is a huge setback for the Proteas skipper who, like Wyatt, has done well in India previously. She even led her national side to a T20 series win in India back in 2021.
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