WPL 2027 auction: Sophie Molineux costliest buy at Rs 1.10cr, check updated squads of all 5 teams
New Delhi: Australia captain Sophie Molineux emerged as the most expensive pick at the in Kochi on Wednesday. Molineux was one of the best overseas players available in the auction pool and triggered a bidding war between the UP Warriorz and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
UP Warriorz, who headed into the auction with the highest purse of Rs 3.75 crore, managed to land the T20 World Cup-winning Aussie skipper for Rs 1.10 crore. UP Warriorz also roped in Australia batter Grace Harris and Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana at their base price of Rs 40 lakh.
The Warriorz were naturally one of the most active teams in the auction with the highest purse and a maximum of 8 slots to fill. They roped in senior Indian wicket-keeper batter Sushma Verma for Rs 30 lakh and also bought back spinner Asha Sobhana at her base price of Rs 30 lakh.
Mumbai Indians went all out to get young Indian talents to fill the gaps in their squad. They bought Disha Kasat, talented youngster Latika Inamdar and spinner Bharti Rawal for Rs 10 lakh each. MI also roped in Sannika Chalke, Shweta Sehrawat and Akshita Bhagat at the auction.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru paid Rs 40 lakh for Aussie all-rounder Jess Jonassen after missing out on their first-choice target, Molineux. They also signed Indian batters Tejal Hasabnis and Vrinda Dinesh at their base prices. RCB roped in Chloe Tyron at Rs 30 lakh to further bolster their squad.
Gujarat Giants paid Rs 30 lakh to sign Ireland batter Orla Prendergast, who became the first Irish cricketer to be sold at the WPL auction. The Giants also signed Indian batter G Kamalini and Delhi’s Samaira Raghav at her base price of Rs 10 lakh.
Delhi Capitals paid a big sum of Rs 75 lakh to rope in experienced Indian batter Kiran Navgire to bolster their top order ahead of the new season. They also signed Kirstie Gordon and uncapped Indian players like Uma Kashvi and Nazma Khan to strengthen their squad.
Complete updated squads of all 5 teams after WPL 2027 auction:
UP Warriorz
Retained: Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Pratika Rawal, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Sophie Ecclestone, Tara Norris
Players bought – Sophie Molineux (Rs 1.10 crore), Sneh Rana (Rs 40 lakh), Grace Harris (Rs 40 lakh), Sushma Verma (Rs 30 lakh), Kathryn Bryce (Rs 10 lakh), Asha Sobhana (Rs 30 lakh), Manali Dakshini (Rs 10 lakh), Sahana Pawar (Rs 10 lakh)
Gujarat Giants
Retained: Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Yastika Bhatia, Anushka Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Happy Kumari, Jintimani Kalita
Players bought – Orla Prendergast (Rs 30 lakh), G Kamalini (Rs 40 lakh), Samaira Raghav (Rs 10 lakh)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Retained: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Prathyoosha Kumar
Players bought – Jess Jonassen (Rs 40 lakh), Chloe Tryon (Rs 30 lakh), Tejal Hasabnis (Rs 30 lakh), Vrinda Dinesh (Rs 10 lakh)
Delhi Capitals
Retained: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Lucy Hamilton, Minnu Mani, Niki Prasad, Sree Charani, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandni Sharma, Deeya Yadav
Players bought – Kiran Navgire (Rs 75 lakh), Uma Kashvi (Rs 10 lakh), Kirstie Gordon (Rs 10 lakh), Nazma Khan (Rs 10 lakh)
Mumbai Indians
Retained: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Shabnim Ismail, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajana, Sanskriti Gupta, Rahila Firdous, Vaishnavi Sharma
Players bought – Latika Inamdar (Rs 10 lakh), Bharti Rawal (Rs 10 lakh), Saanika Chalke (Rs 10 lakh), Shweta Sehrawat (Rs 20 lakh), Akshita Bhagat (Rs 10 lakh)