WPL 2023: From Shafali Verma to Sonam Yadav, India's U-19 World Champions Who Landed Deals at Historic Auction

The first-ever auction for the highly anticipated inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League proved to be a momentous event in the history of Indian cricket.

The evening proved to be a watershed moment in the world of women’s cricket headlined by India’s star batsman Smriti Mandhana. The 23-year-old was prized away at a mouth-watering 3.4 Crore Rupees by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Other Indian internationals such as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and all-rounder Deepti Sharma also fetched big bucks as they were drafted by the Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz respectively for 1.8 Crore Rupees and 2.6 Crore Rupees.

But the auction wasn’t just about the experienced players as many promising young cricketers from the U-19 World Cup winning side also made their mark on the inaugural offering.

SOLD

The captain of the age-category title-winning side, Shafali Verma was the toast of the capital city as the Delhi capitals picked her up for a massive price tag of Rupees 2 Crores. The franchise also enlisted the services of seamer Titas Sadhu for the price of Rupees 25 Lakhs.

The vice-captain of the team that claimed the international trophy, Shweta Sherawat was roped in by the Capri Global-owned UP Warriorz for 40 Lakh Rupees, who also acquired seamer Parshavi Chopra for Rupees 10 Lakhs.

Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, the only other capped player in the age-category trophy-clinching team other than skipper Shafali, was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for an astounding amount of 1.9 Crore Rupees.

Gujarat Giants snapped up Hurley Gala and Shabnam Shakil from the history-making team for 10 Lakh Rupees each.

15-year-old Sonam Yadav was added to the ranks of Mumbai Indians for a sum of 10 Lakh Rupees.

UNSOLD:

The member of the U-19 championship-winning team that went unsold included slow left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap, wicketkeeper-batter Hrishita Basu, and middle-order batter Soumya Tiwari.

While there were also no takers for the talented right-arm spinner Archana Devi, medium pacer Falak Naz, batter Soniya Mendhiya, and opener Gongadi Trisha.

Get the latest Cricket News here