WPL Auction 2023: The inaugural auction for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 took place on Monday, 13th February. Five franchises spent a total of Rs 59.5 crore to acquire 87 players in the WPL 2023 auction. Team India's star player Smriti Mandhana was the costliest player in the WPL auction. She was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for 3.40 crores.
Auctioneer Mallika Sagar hogged limelight for brilliantly managing the first-ever Women's Premier League (WPL) auction and has been receiving praise from fans and the entire cricket fraternity ever since. For the first time in history of Indian cricket, a women auctioneer conducted an auction for a T20 League.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's senior wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik took to his official Twitter handle, Monday, to hail BCCI for making right choices in WPL and termed Mallika as a 'terrific auctioneer'.
'MALLIKA SAGAR is a terrific auctioneer. Confident , clear and very poised. Straight away the right choices in the WPL. Well done @BCCI,' Karthik wrote.
Who is Mallika Sagar?
Mallika Sagar, the female auctioneer for Women's Premier League 2023, is a Mumbai-based art collector consultant for modern and contemporary Indian art and currently works with the firm Art India Consultants. Hugh Adamdes, Richard Madley and Charu Sharma have conducted auctions for the Indian Premier League over the years.
Top five most expensive players in WPL 2023 auction
Many Indian and foreign players turned millionaires in the WPL 2023 auction. India's Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive player to be sold in the WPL 2023 auction as she was acquired by RCB for INR 3.2 crore. Ashley Gardner and Natalie Sciver bagged INR 3.2 crore, each, fetching the joint-most money among overseas players. Deepti Sharma became the third most expensive player with INR 2.6 crores, Jemima Rodrigues fourth with 2.2 crores and Beth Mooney bagged INR 2 crores.