"Smriti Mandhana will be the most expensive" - Aakash Chopra on the WPL 2023 auction
Aakash Chopra expects Smriti Mandhana to be the most expensive player at the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction.
The auction for the inaugural edition of the much-awaited tournament will be held in Mumbai on Monday, February 13. Each of the five franchises will have an available purse of ₹12 crore apiece, with which they can buy a maximum of 18 players, including six foreigners.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that captaincy options are likely to draw the biggest bids. The former Indian opener reckons Smriti Mandhana will be the most sought-after player, elaborating:
"It is going to be an interesting auction because it is happening for the first time. They have to find five captains as well. So when you go to buy a captain, you will spend a lot of money and that much money is not there. There is no doubt that Indian players will be the most expensive."
"In my opinion, Smriti Mandhana will be the most expensive, Harmanpreet Kaur at No. 2 and Deepti Sharma at No. 3. I am seeing Ellyse Perry becoming a captain for one of the sides. The fifth could be Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning, Nat Sciver, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews or Marizanne Kapp - there is just too much quality."
Apart from Smriti, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma, the franchises might look at Jemimah Rodrigues as another Indian captaincy option, especially after her responsible match-winning knock in India's T20 World Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan.
Shafali Verma could be another long-term captaincy option, with her title-winning exploits in the recent Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup working in her favor.
"After the Indian players, the most money will go in Australian dollars" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra expects the Australian players to rake in the moolah among the overseas professionals, reasoning:
"After the Indian players, the most money will go in Australian dollars. All Australian players who are registered here will get good money, whether it is Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner or Tahlia McGrath - they are all absolutely outstanding."
The reputed commentator reckons all-rounders, contrary to those in the Indian Premier League (IPL), might not laugh all the way to the bank, explaining:
"Generally all-rounders get a lot of money. But here there are so many all-rounders, it is possible they might get slightly less money. It is not like the Men's IPL where there are very few all-rounders and we end up giving 50 crores to three all-rounders."
Hope you watched the entertaining and enterprising efforts of @JemiRodrigues and @13richaghosh yesterday. They have set the tone for the rest of the campaign in @T20WorldCup..
And today is the day all female cricketers were waiting for! The AUCTION for WPL. Good luck all..
Chopra concluded by opining that franchises would prefer overseas pacers. He reasoned that India do not have that much depth in the seam-bowling department.