WPL 2023: 5 Players who turned out to be steal deals in auction

The much-anticipated Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction took place on Monday, February 13 at the JIO World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The auction for the top-tier league unfurled with the first name of Smriti Mandhana sparking a massive bidding war and eventually getting bagged for INR 3.40 crore deal by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. All franchises have already begun ideating plans ahead of the new season and had noted down specific players to target at the auction in order to bolster their squads. As many as 409 players were pruned from the list of 1,525 cricketers that had registered for the WPL auction. Of the registered players, 246 Indians were part of the auction whereas 163 players were from the overseas nations, which included eight players that belong to the associate nations. All eyes were on the numerous high-profile players that were up for grabs on the auction block. While some of the players sparked off massive bidding wars, a few of them failed to attract much attention despite their vast experience and impressive performances. In this article, we take a look at the five steal buys among the list of top players in the auction. 5 Steal Buys among top players in the WPL 2023 Auction- 5. Meg Lanning – INR 1.10 Crore Australia skipper Meg Lanning will don the colours of Delhi Capitals as the franchise procured her services for INR 1.10 Cr. The Delhi-based franchise were involved in the bidding process with Mumbai Indians before the latter backed out of the deal. Lanning has been tremendously successful during her stint with the national side as she has two Women’s Cricket World Cup and four ICC Women’s T20 World Cup titles. The seasoned cricketer has featured in 127 T20I matches for Australia, aggregating 3,252 runs at a strike rate of 116.06 which also includes two centuries. The Aussie skipper entered the auction with a base price of INR 50 lakh and many hoped that she would garner massive attention for her illustrious career and impressive performances. Despite this, franchises went only till the 1.1 crore-mark for the veteran Aussie player to secure her services. 4. Sophia Dunkley – INR 60 Lakh Gujarat Giants have hit the jackpot as they got England’s attacking opener Sophia Dunkley for INR 60 lakhs in the auction. Dunkley made her debut for the national side in 2018 at the Women's World T20 in the West Indies and rose to prominence for her aggressive batting exploits. In 30 innings, she has garnered she has 608 runs which includes two half-centuries in the T20Is. Recently, Dunkley notched up 60 runs off 38 balls as England secured a five-wicket win over New Zealand in the Warm-Up match of the ongoing World Cup in South Africa. Though Delhi and Gujarat locked horns to rope in the Englishwoman in the auction, INR 60L seemed enough for the former franchise to step down from the bidding war. The prolific batter has proven to be the point of difference on many occasions with her performances and Gujarat will certainly be delighted to have got such a terrific talent for a steal deal. 3. Deandra Dottin – INR 60 lakh The West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin joins Gujarat Giants as the franchise got her for just INR 60 lakhs at the auction. The cricketer retired from the international circuit in 2022 after representing the Windies side for nearly 14-long years since her debut in 2008. She scored her first T20I century (112 not out off 45 balls) against South Africa in St. Kitts during the 2010 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which propelled her to prominence in world cricket. Apart from opening in the batting line-up, the veteran all-rounder’s medium-fast bowling poses a challenge for the opposition's batters. Adding to this, she is also a livewire in the outfield, which quickly enabled her to be rated among the best all-rounders in the history of the women’s game. Deandra was part of the team which defeated the dominant Aussies to win the Women’s T20 World Cup title in Kolkata in April 2016. Having spent just INR 60L in their kitty, Gujarat have a seasoned cricketer with plethora of experience playing against the best teams in the world. 2. Alyssa Healy – INR 70 Lakh Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy has been bought by UP Warriorz in the auction for INR 70 lakh which has intrigued many fans. Healy has relished an illustrious career thus far as she has been part of the national side that went on to win five T20 World Cup titles, one ODI World Cup title, two WBBL titles in the top-tier league. She also relishes stunning individual accolades as she was awarded the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2019 and the prestigious Belinda Clark Award in 2019. Considering her power-hitting abilities, any bowling unit would look to dismiss her quick before she hits the ground running. Her aggressive hitting abilities were on display when she set the record for the highest T20I innings against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 148 off 61 balls. Though she could not spark off a remarkable bidding war, Healy will undoubtedly come as big help for the UP Warriorz. 1. Sophie Devine- INR 50 Lakh Skipper of the New Zealand side Sophie Devine became the first overseas player to be sold at the auction table. Interestingly, Royal Challengers Bangalore secured her services for the sum of INR 50 lakh which was also her base price. The batter possesses exceptional leadership qualities and can add lot of balance to side in the WPL season. She is also 50 runs shy of attaining a massive milestone of 3000 T20I runs and already has over 100 scalps to her name. While the other franchises were not particularly interested to bag a deal for her, RCB could potentially have a game changer within the team with the likes of Devine for just INR 50L. For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store

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WPL 2023: 5 Players who turned out to be steal deals in auction

Quite a few high-profile players failed to trigger bidding wars but can surely add massive value to their respective franchises in the league.

1. Sophie Devine- INR 50 Lakh

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