Ranking the top 3 best buys of WPL 2025 auction ft. Nandini Kashyap
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction for the 2025 edition concluded on Sunday, December 19, in Bengaluru. While several players registered for the auction, only a handful were to be brought by the teams to complete their respective squads.
All five teams had a good run at the auction as they managed to bag services of really good players, Indian and overseas. While some cricketers garnered big bucks on the back of their recent international and domestic performances, there were also a few shocking steal deals.
On that note, let’s look at the three best buys of the WPL 2025 auction.
#3 Nadine de Klerk
South African cricketer Nadine de Klerk was roped in by the inaugural champions of the tournament - Mumbai Indians - at her base price of ₹30 lakh. The all-rounder put up some memorable performances for South Africa and also in the recently concluded Women’s Big Bash League 2024.
In the recent three-match T20I series against England, De Klerk accumulated 80 runs and also picked up four wickets. Her scores in the three innings read 29*, 32*, and 19 while her bowling figures in the three games were 2/20, 2/36, and 0/19.
Though her efforts went in vain, as the Proteas women suffered a series whitewash, they were surely seen by former England cricketer and MI Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards.
The MI think tank looked very happy when they bagged De Klerk at her base price, which came as a surprise for many fans as the cricketer saw no other bidders.
#2 Deandra Dottin
When West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin registered her name for the WPL auction, it was expected that she’d attract big bucks, especially after her performances for her national side in the T20 World Cup, which saw the Caribbean side make it to the semi-final.
Dottin carried the form in WBBL as well, and her recent performances, both with bat and ball, speak volumes about her. On the day of the auction, after being roped in by the Gujarat Giants for a whopping ₹1.7 crore, she played a brilliant knock against India in the first of the three-match T20I series.
Dottin attracted bids from UP Warriorz and Giants, with the former lifting the paddle first at her base price of ₹50 lakh. The two teams kept going before the Warriorz eventually backed out after the Giants surpassed their bid of ₹1.6 crore.
#1 Nandini Kashyap
Nandini Kashyap was expected to go big at the auction after her recent exploits in the domestic setup. At the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, Kashyap finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, scoring 332 runs in five matches.
Delhi Capitals raised the paddle just a few seconds before the auctioneer was to drop the gavel as the cricketer did not attract any bids across the room. While many fans expected a bidding war to start then, Kashyap was sold at her base price of ₹10 lakh.
Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly, who was a part of the auction table, was shocked when the Kashyap saw no other bidders and was stunningly added to the DC squad without any fight. Nonetheless, the DC think tank was all smiles after the steal deal.