Best playing XI of the highest-paid cricketers in WPL 2023
The inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL 2023) season is just days away, with all five franchises having commenced their preparations for the highly anticipated tournament.
The WPL 2023 auction saw 87 names finding takers, including 30 overseas players. The total spending at the event touched nearly ₹60 crore, with several high-profile cricketers missing out due to the scarcity of available spots.
Here is the best playing XI consisting of the highest-paid cricketers in WPL 2023.
Openers: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma
Smriti Mandhana expectedly commanded the biggest price tag at the WPL 2023 auction. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) snapped up the left-hander for ₹3.4 crore at the very start of the auction, an amount that was not surpassed by any of the other 86 players. She is a shoo-in in this XI.
Mandhana's Indian opening partner Shafali Verma has come under criticism lately for her indifferent form and poor fielding, but she has a long career ahead of her. The dashing batter will play for the Delhi Capitals (DC), who signed her for ₹2 crore, in WPL 2023.
Middle Order: Jemimah Rodrigues, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Ashleigh Gardner, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma
Following Shafali in this XI is DC's most expensive buy at the WPL 2023 auction, Jemimah Rodrigues. The talented young batter commanded ₹2.2 crore to round off the top five most expensive players at the event. She will be at the center of the Capitals' quest to clinch an elusive title.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, meanwhile, was the Mumbai Indians' (MI) most expensive signing at the auction. The English international fetched ₹3.2 crore, a sum that isn't surprising given her immense all-round pedigree across formats.
Ashleigh Gardner, too, was sold for the same amount. The Gujarat Giants splurged more on the Aussie than on any other player. Gardner is a three-dimensional cricketer whose power-hitting in the middle order sets her apart from the rest.
The Indian trio of Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma round off the middle order in this XI.
While Harmanpreet was a relative steal for MI at ₹1.8 crore and is at the helm of this hypothetical XI. Richa, who was sold to RCB for ₹1.9 crore, will don the gloves. Deepti, the fourth-costliest player at ₹2.6 crore, will play for the UP Warriorz.
Bowlers: Pooja Vastrakar, Sophie Ecclestone, Renuka Singh Thakur
It didn't come as a surprise that there were barely any specialist bowlers among the top earners at the WPL 2023 auction.
Pooja Vastrakar and Sophie Ecclestone are capable lower-order hitters, but this XI might not need their batting services too much. While MI claimed Vastrakar for ₹1.9 crore, Ecclestone was the Warriorz's second-costliest buy at ₹1.8 crore.
Renuka Singh Thakur was the only specialist bowler to fetch more than ₹1 crore. The Indian swing bowler will lead the RCB pace attack during the upcoming WPL season.