Mumbai, Dec 9: Punjab pacer Kashvee Gautam fetched a winning bid of Rs 2 crore from Gujarat Giants at the WPL auction here on Saturday.
The 20-year-old’s base price was Rs 10 lakh. Both Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz bid for Kashvee before the former managed to secure her services for the second edition of WPL.
In another big payday for an uncapped Indian cricketer, UP Warriorz bid Rs 1.3 crore for 22-year-old Karnataka batter Vrinda Dinesh.
Both Vrinda and Kashvee had recently featured for India A in their three-match series against England A.
In the early stages, Australian cricketers attracted the highest bids with all-rounder Annabel Sutherland being sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore and batter Phoebe Litchfield to Gujarat Giants for Rs 1 crore.
The 22-year-old Sutherland was released by Gujarat Giants after the inaugural edition of WPL held in March this year. She attracted bids from defending champions Mumbai Indians but they pulled out, with the player eventually going to the Capitals.
Gujarat Giants went for the left-handed 20-year-old Litchfield who has made her debut across formats for Australia.South Africa fast bowler Shabnim Ismail was added to Mumbai Indians squad for Rs 1.20 crore, three times her base price.Royal Challengers Bangalore went for Australia’s Georgia Wareham in the earlier stages of the auction, paying Rs 40 lakh for the deal.
RCB also bought England’s Kate Cross for Rs 30 lakh and the 37-year-old Indian spinner Ekta Bisht for Rs 60 lakh, two times her base price.
Moreover, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Saturday that the second edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played only in one city, like it was the case in the inaugural season.
Shah, who is also the WPL committee’s convenor, said the league will start in the second or third week of February, 2024.
There were talks of next year’s WPL being played in multiple cities like the IPL.
“It is decided that we will have the tournament in February, most probably we will start in the second or third week.
“As far as the venue is concerned, it will be held in one state only so that it is better logistically – what if we do not get two venues in one city, that is,” Shah told reporters here on the sidelines of the WPL auction.
“Logistics are very important for us this time, next time we can figure it out,” he said.
Going deeper into the selection of the WPL venue, Shah said the BCCI has multiple options in front of it.
Shah said the governing body will soon have a sit-in with WPL franchises to finalise the venue.(PTI)
