WPL auction: Molineux, Kiran top earners; Kashvi scripts history

Just a cricket ball’s throw away from Hyatt Grand lies the peaceful Vembanad Lake. The WPL’s mini auction, held at Hyatt’s Vembanad Hall, was about just as peaceful on Wednesday evening: there weren’t that many fierce bidding wars.

That wasn’t really surprising. It was a mini auction, after all, with just 27 slots up for grabs. Sophie Molineux, the all-rounder who led Australia to the T20 World Cup crown some three months ago in England, turned out to be the costliest star. She was bought by UP Warriorz for ₹1.10 crore.

Warriorz had come to the auction with by far the largest purse (₹3.75 crore), and the paddle from their table went up even before the auctioneer completed announcing Molineux’s name. Her base price was ₹50 lakh. Royal Challengers Bengaluru was also keen, but had to step back as it didn’t have the kind of money that Warriorz had.

Warriorz, of course, had more spots to fill than the other four franchises. They went on to add Grace Harris (₹30 lakh), Sneh Rana (₹30 lakh), Sushma Verma (₹30 lakh), Asha Sobhana (₹30 lakh), Kathryn Bryce (₹10 lakh), Manali Dakshini (₹10 lakh) and Sahana Pawar (₹10 lakh).

Among them, the biggest steal was Harris, one of the hardest hitters you would come across in women’s cricket. She can be more than useful with her off-spin, too. She is returning to Warriorz after being part of the title-winning RCB.

Another big-hitter, Kiran Navgire, did not come as cheap: Delhi Capitals bought her for ₹75 lakh, against a base price of ₹40 lakh. Mumbai Indians was also interested in her.

G. Kamalini and Jess Jonassen were both picked up for their base price of ₹40 lakh, by Gujarat Giants and RCB, respectively. Mumbai Indians went on a spree of budget buys. It got Disha Kasat, Latika Inamdar, Bharti Rawal, Saanika Chalke and Akshita Bhagat, all for ₹10 lakh, and Shweta Sehrawat for ₹20 lakh.

Uma Kashvi was sold for ₹10 lakh to Capitals, but she made history. At 15, she is the youngest to make it to a WPL squad.

There were big stars who failed to shine, like Sophia Dunkley. The England opener was the only player, apart from Molineux, who had asked for a base price of ₹50 lakh. She had no takers.