WPL 2023: Best India starting XI after auction

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction delivered some incredible moments to Indian cricket fans as they saw some of their finest players receiving huge bucks. Now, these players will have to show up in the inaugural season of the tournament which will be played for 23 days in March 2023. The WPL auction brought cheers to the face of a renowned Indian batter as she became the most expensive player at the event. Three Indian players feature the list of the top five costliest players in the auction, after getting picked at a hefty amount. Along with them, the auction went well for some other India stalwarts too as they received decent money due to their potential and recent performances. However, after grabbing headlines, these players will have to justify their prices in the upcoming tournament. Here is India's best playing XI from the 2023 WPL auction 1. Smriti Mandhana At the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive player. The Indian vice-captain went to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at INR 3.4 crore, and was later named the team's skipper. In the upcoming tournament, she will be expected to deliver fine starts to the team as an efficient opener. In the past, Mandhana has delivered some incredible knocks to India Women in situations when the team required her support. Her record in T20 Internationals (T20Is) is phenomenal. The 26-year-old has accumulated 2713 runs with 21 half-centuries in 114 T20Is at a strike rate of 123.26. With these impressive batting numbers, she has established herself as an attacking opener in the shortest form of the sport. In the upcoming cash-rich league, eyes will be set on her as she will have to justify her sold amount with her batting performances. 2. Shafali Verma Delhi Capitals reserved the services of Shafali Verma for the maiden WPL season. The franchise engaged in a bidding battle with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to sign her for the marquee tournament. Eventually, the fearless opener got sold to DC at a good sum of INR 2 crore. In the mega event, she could be assigned the role of an opener in her team. In her four years of T20I career, she has delivered phenomenal shows with the bat while representing the senior women's team. The 19-year-old player was a vital cog in the national team’s Women’s T20 Asia Cup title victory in 2022. With 166 runs in six matches with a fifty, she contributed to the team’s triumph and also became the third-leading run-scorer in the tournament. This year, the young gun will look to dominate bowlers with her fierce batting style and power DC to win the trophy in the inaugural WPL edition. 3. Shweta Sehrawat After contributing to the India U-19 team’s remarkable title victory with her spectacular batting performances in the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup, Shweta Sehrawat grabbed a lot of eyes. The youngster smashed 297 runs with three half-centuries in seven matches of the competition and also ended up as the tournament's highest run-scorer. Witnessing her capability, UP Warriorz (UPW) picked her up at the WPL Player Auction at INR 40 lakh. Earlier, she registered her name at the auction with a base price of INR 10 lakh, but along with UPW, Delhi Capitals (DC) too raised their bidding paddles to buy her for the first season. Now, after getting sold to UPW, Sehrawat has got a chance to showcase her talent among a group of big international players. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, the 18-year-old will strive to be impactful with her bat and become a notable figure in the WPL as well. 4. Jemimah Rodrigues Jemimah Rodrigues has established herself as a credible batter after five years of her T20I career. The 22-year-old has hit 1,642 runs with 10 half-centuries in 78 T20Is at a strike rate of 112.77. In 2022, she was influential with her bat scoring 463 runs with three half-centuries in 20 T20Is. At the 2023 WPL auction, Rodrigues submitted her name with a base price of INR 50 lakh. However, with her experience and skills, she got acquired by Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 2.20 crore. Along with DC, UP Warriorz (UPW) and Mumbai Indians (MI) had also shown interest in her. Since 2018, Rodrigues is actively playing league cricket and has done extremely well. In the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), she delivered her best performance in the 2021-22 season as she amassed 333 runs for Melbourne Renegades with two fifties in 13 matches at a strike rate of 116.43. This year, she will look to show the same confidence for her team DC in the maiden WPL season. 5. Harmanpreet Kaur Mumbai Indians (MI) spent INR 1.8 crore on the current India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the 2023 Player Auction. The franchise locked horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), and UP Warriorz (UPW) to sign her for the inaugural season. In the tournament, the veteran could also be seen leading the side. Her captaincy record in T20Is is phenomenal as she has won 53 games for India out of 94 matches while leading the side. In four editions of the Women’s T20 Challenge, she led the Supernovas to three title victories and became the most successful skipper in the tournament. Along with captaincy, Kaur will play an essential role for the team due to her batting. In the shortest form of the game, the 33-year-old is a reliable middle-order batter in the national team since 2009. In 2022, she was excellent with her bat hitting 524 runs with two fifties in 22 matches. 6. Harleen Deol Harleen Deol is active in women’s international cricket since 2019 and in these four years, she has produced a few terrific knocks for the national team. In Indian conditions, she dominates bowlers with her aggressive game attitude and her brilliant batting numbers in the Women’s T20 Challenge corroborate the fact. At the WPL auction, Deol went to Gujarat Giants (GG) for her base price of INR 40 lakh. In the mega tournament, her franchise could expect her to play the role of a finisher. The 24-year-old has played a few innings that displayed her potential to come hard on bowlers in the last overs of matches. Deol showed her confidence in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy 2022-23 scoring 124 runs for India A with two fifties in four matches at a strike rate of 133.33. In the WPL, she will have to be at her best against quality teams to clinch the title. 7. Richa Ghosh Richa Ghosh is a vital cog in the Indian team due to her outstanding batting skills. In her three years of T20I career, she has played a lot of match-finishing innings for India. So far she has piled up 549 runs for the national team in 33 T20I matches at a decent strike rate of 135.89. Banking on her international numbers, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a bidding contest with Delhi Capitals (DC) to rope Ghosh into their squad for the forthcoming WPL. The wicket-keeper batter’s recent numbers helped her to win the confidence of the franchise and bag the contract. In 2022, she was sensational with her bat racking up 259 runs in 18 matches at a strike rate of 150.58. After getting a humongous amount at the auction, the 19-year-old will now back herself to shine for RCB. In the tournament, playing with stars such as Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, and Sophie Devine will also boost her confidence. 8. Deepti Sharma Deepti Sharma became the third-most expensive player at the 2023 WPL auction as the talented India all-rounder got picked by UP Warriorz (UPW) for INR 2.6 crore. The 25-year-old is known for her disciplined bowling and fierce batting in the lower order. For the national squad, she has won a lot of games with her powerful all-round show. In the 2022 Women’s T20 Asia Cup, Sharma guided India to a record seventh title win with her scintillating bowling performance. With 13 wickets in eight matches at an economy of 3.33, she contributed to her team’s triumph. Her overall bowling figures in 2022 are also attractive as she took 29 wickets in 25 T20Is at an economy of 6.07. The veteran continued her brilliant form in 2023 too as so far, she has picked 14 wickets in just eight games. Noticing her present form, UPW will hope that she will dominate batters in the colossal tournament with her exceptional bowling skills. 9. Pooja Vastrakar Pooja Vastrakar has established herself as a credible player in T20 cricket due to her fine bowling performance for India. In the last few years, the team has shown faith in her and in return, the 23-year-old has done pretty well. Till now, she has scalped 30 wickets for India in 46 games, at an economy of 6.14. At the WPL Player Auction, Vastrakar received INR 1.9 crore from Mumbai Indians (MI) to play for them in the maiden WPL season. Noting her experience, MI might assign her the task to spearhead their bowling attack. Along with Issy Wong, Natalie Sciver-Brunt, and Amelia Kerr, she will be a crucial name to support MI’s bowling unit. In 2022, the India bowler grabbed attention for her magnificent performance in the Women’s T20 Challenge. Grabbing six wickets for Supernovas in three contests at an economy of 7.10, she ended up becoming the leading wicket-taker in the competition. This year, eyes will be set on Vastrakar again as she has the capability to wreak havoc on the field with her medium-pace bowling. 10. Renuka Singh Renuka Singh will be seen in RCB colours in the WPL as she was roped in by the franchise for INR 1.5 crore. Her records enticed Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Giants (GG) also as both franchises fought with RCB to buy her. However, in the end, she went to the franchise which has star players such as Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, and Richa Ghosh. Believing in her superb international experience, Renuka will look forward to being impactful for RCB with the ball. In two years of her international career, she has fetched 30 wickets in 30 T20I matches at an economy of 6.31. Recently, she also picked her career best T20I figures of 5/15 against England during their Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 fixture. Besides the international arena, Renuka is a huge personality in the domestic circuit as well. The 27-year-old represented Himachal Pradesh Women from 2011-12 to 2020-21. In the last domestic season (2022-23), she scalped eight wickets for India D in three matches of the 2022-23 Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy and helped the team to claim the title. 11. Rajeshwari Gayakwad Rajeshwari Gayakwad is a senior player in the Indian team. Back in January 2014, she made her international debut, and now the 31-year-old is one of the key bowlers in the national side. Till now, Gayakwad has picked up 58 wickets in 54 T20I contests at an economy of 6.23. Currently, the veteran is a part of the Indian team at the ongoing 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup. After the conclusion of the marquee event, she will play for UP Warriorz (UPW) in the mega WPL. The franchise signed Gayakwad for her basic price of INR 40 lakh at the WPL auction held in Mumbai on February 13, 2023. Gayakwad’s experience will be important for her franchise in the forthcoming event as she will reinforce the spin attack. However, with the support of her teammate Deepti Sharma, things will become a bit easy for her. Along with Sharma, Gayakwad has delivered a lot of match-winning moments for India and in the WPL, they will strive to do the same for UPW.

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WPL 2023: Best India starting XI after auction

These players dominated the auction due to their recent powerful performances for the national team.

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