WPL 2023: 5 blunders made by franchises during auction

The buildup to the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has been phenomenal as the WPL 2023 auction lived up to its billing. Top-drawer players from around the world went under the hammer and fans were kept at the edge of their seats throughout the event.

Each of the five franchises went into the auction with their unique set of strategies and were quite smart with most of their moves in the bidding area. As a result, every WPL squad is studded with match-winners of the T20 circuit. However, there were certain ploys that raised a lot of eyebrows and appeared like blunders from the team’s end.

Here are five blunders made by franchises during the auction:

5. No franchise placing a bid for Alana King

Alana King's stature in world cricket has been on a meteoric rise ever since she made her debut. From a promising bowler to being a vital cog in Australia’s bowling attack, she has come quite a long way. The ace spinner has bamboozled batters with her variations and wreaked havoc with the ball in the international arena.

Alana has featured in 15 ODIs and picked up 17 wickets at an economy of 4.25. Talking about the shortest format, she has bagged 21 wickets in 22 games at an economy of 6.29. The Australian leg-spinner showed her class in the Women’s Big Bash League 2022-23 and took 17 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 5.91.

Alana has emerged as a game-changer with the ball and would be a valuable addition to any team. Therefore, it was a huge surprise that no WPL franchise was inclined towards roping her into their side at the recently culminated auction.