WPL 2023: 5 overseas players who might go unsold in auction

The inaygural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played from March 4, 2023, to March 26, 2023. Five franchises will take part and have the opportunity to build their teams at the WPL 2023 player auction. Every franchise can buy 15 to 18 players at the event with a purse value of INR 12 crore. Fabled foreign players such as Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Natalie Sciver, Sophie Ecclestone, and Sophie Devine are favourites to attract enormous prices. However, there are a few overseas names that could get ignored by the franchises due to their recent poor performances. Inexperience and recent dismal WT20I numbers are the main reasons that may keep some players away from earning contracts in the maiden season of distinguished WPL. Here are five overseas players that may not find a buyer at the WPL Player Auction 5. Shorna Akter Shorna Akter. (Photo Source: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) In the recently concluded ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup, Shorna Akter became Bangladesh's top-scorer. The young gun amassed 153 runs with a half-century in five matches at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 157.73. However, with the ball, she took only one wicket at an economy of 5.00. In the WPL auction, the talented Bangladesh cricketer's name will feature in the all-rounder category of the EMP2 set. Her reserve price will be INR 20 lakh, and she will look forward to getting her maiden contract with her recent scintillating batting numbers. However, things won’t be easy for her at the auction as she hasn’t played any women’s international game yet. On the other hand, she will get stiff competition from experienced all-rounders such as Sri Lanka Women’s Chamari Athapaththu and South Africa’s Sune Luus. 4. Reniece Boyce Reniece Boyce. (Photo Source: Jan Kruger-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) The West Indies wicket-keeper batter Reniece Boyce has submitted her name to go under the hammer in the inaugural WPL auction. Her base price will be INR 40 lakh which could become the biggest reason for her to go unsold at the important event. Back in 2017, Boyce made her women’s international cricket debut for the West Indies Women against South Africa Women in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup. Since then, she has featured in only six WODI games for her side and has scored only 42 runs. She also struggled to gather runs in the shortest format of the sport. The 25-year-old has amassed only 20 runs in five innings of six WT20I games. Considering the Caribbean player’s batting numbers in the international circuit, no franchise may show interest in her to pick at her hefty base amount 3. Bernadine Bezuidenhout Bernadine Bezuidenhout. (Photo Source: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) The current season has begun well for the New Zealand Women's player Bernadine Bezuidenhout. The 29-year-old earned a place in the New Zealand Women’s team for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup team in South Africa. The Kiwi cricketer played her last international match in January 2020. At the WPL auction, she is included in the wicket-keeper category of the WK1 set. The 29-year-old has kept her base price of INR 30 lakhs. However, going through her overall record, she may fail to bag a contract for the upcoming maiden edition of the tournament. So far, Bezuidenhout has accumulated 125 runs in 13 WODI contests at a strike rate of 75.30. Talking about her WT20I performance, the top-order Kiwi batter’s record is worse as she has amassed only 103 runs in 16 matches at a dismal strike rate of 84.42. 2. Sarah Coyte Sarah Coyte. (Photo Source: Albert Perez/Getty Images) Sarah Coyte was integral to the Australia Women’s T20 International squad due to her medium-pace bowling. In 2017, she announced her retirement from all forms of the sport. In 2019, she came out of her retirement to play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Currently, the veteran is a prolific wicket-taking bowler in the tournament. Talking about her complete WBBL career, the 31-year-old has grabbed 103 scalps in 104 games at an economy of 6.73. Recently, Coyte is also one of the cricketers to sign up to be a part of the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction. At the colossal event, her base price is set for INR 30 lakh and will expect the franchise to hand her contract considering her WBBL figures. However, the Aussie cricketer’s absence from Women’s T20 Internationals (WT20Is) could make her unreliable for the buyers. Besides that, her bowling figures in WT20Is are not so impressive as she has bagged only 47 wickets in 47 matches at an economy of 6.10. 1. Tammy Beaumont Tammy Beaumont. (Photo Source: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) The England Women’s team opener Tammy Beaumont has showcased her skills many times in Women’s T20 Internationals. In 2018, she smashed a 47-ball ton against South Africa Women at Taunton and grabbed the attention of women’s cricket fans. She has scored 1,721 runs with a hundred and 10 fifties in 99 WT20Is at a strike rate of 108.37. The veteran was recently featured on the WPL Players Auction list and other 408 cricketers. At the auction, she is set to go under the hammer for her base price of INR 30 lakhs. Looking at the swashbuckling English opener, the franchises may get enticed to sign her. However, she played only two games in WT20Is for her national side in 2022 and scored only 36 runs. During the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July, she also got dropped from the English Women’s team due to her slow batting in the WT20Is. Noting these factors, the franchises might go for fierce openers at the auction, instead of investing in her.

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WPL 2023: 5 overseas players who might go unsold in auction

These overseas players might get a cold shoulder from the franchises in the upcoming WPL auction.

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