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. 4. UP Warriorz spending INR 1.4 crore for Devika Vaidya Devika Vaidya is one of the promising all-rounders in India’s cricketing circles. She has been a handy contributor with the bat and played crucial knocks for the Women in Blue. With the ball, she has spun the web around the opposition and chipped in with crucial wickets. UP Warriorz liked what they saw in the Indian all-rounder and went all guns blazing to acquire her at the WPL 2023 auction. Eventually, they signed Devika for INR 1.4 crore. Though she has shown glimpses of brilliance on the big stage, one could question whether it was wise on UP’s end to pay such a hefty sum for the Pune-born. In the T20Is, Devika has managed just six wickets in 13 games and scored mere 89 runs at a strike rate of 98.88. The numbers portray that the Indian all-rounder has not been able to crack the code in the international arena and therefore, UP franchise's expenditure does not look too sensible. 3. Letting Mumbai Indians buy Hayley Matthews for INR 40 lakh Hayley Matthews is one of the finest all-rounders West Indies cricket has produced. She has put up an exhibition of her swashbuckling stroke play and provided her team with crackling starts. On the bowling front, the 24-year-old has been a strike force with the ball. Matthews has scored 1915 runs in 75 ODIs at an average of 26.97 and bagged 89 wickets at an economy of 4.06. Coming to the shortest format, the ace all-rounder has scored 1581 runs in 82 T20Is at a strike rate of 104.15 and picked up 78 wickets at an economy of 5.80. Besides her all-round prowess, Matthews has displayed her leadership credentials in the international arena. A player of Hayley’s caliber is an asset to the side and thus, it was shocking to see no WPL team apart from Mumbai Indians placing a bid to sign her at the auction. As a result, Mumbai grabbed the West Indies all-rounder at her base price of INR 40 lakh. 2. No interest in Lea Tahuhu Lea Tahuhu has been the mainstay of New Zealand’s pace attack for over a decade. She has made the new ball talk and provided the White Ferns with early breakthroughs. The ace pacer has been equally impeccable in the other phases of the innings as well. Tahuhu has made 84 appearances for her national side in the 50-over format and bagged 94 wickets at an economy of 4.48. Coming to the shortest format, the 32-year-old has picked up 72 scalps in 75 games at an economy of 5.98. Tahuhu is a genuine wicket-taker and her addition brings a wealth of experience to any side. Despite what the Christchurch-born brought to the table, no franchise was interested in acquiring her services at the WPL 2023 auction. 1. Letting UP Warriorz buy Alyssa Healy for INR 70 lakh Alyssa Healy has been a giant of a player in world cricket. She has featured in 94 ODIs and amassed 2639 runs at a strike rate of 100.18. When it comes to the T20Is, the 32-year-old has aggregated 2446 runs in 139 matches at a strike rate of 127.72. Healy has tormented bowlers with her marauding bat and left the cricket fraternity in awe of her performances. On her day, the ace batter has taken even the best of bowling attacks to the cleaners and stamped her authority on the cricket field. Besides her batting might, Alyssa has been lightning-quick behind the stumps. Healy is one of the finest opening batters in the international arena and thus, it was expected that franchises would go all guns blazing to sign her. However, it was not meant to be and UP Warriorz manage to draft her into their side for an affordable price of INR 70 lakh. There was only a little resistance from Mumbai Indians but no other franchise bid aggressively for the Australian batter to give UP a tough time at the auction table.

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WPL 2023: 5 blunders made by franchises during auction

Certain ploys at the WPL 2023 auction raised a lot of eyebrows.

2. No interest in Lea Tahuhu

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