WPL 2025 Auction: Simran Shaikh, Deandra Dottin most expensive buys; full list of sold players and updated squads

Uncapped Indian all-rounder Simran Shaikh became the most expensive buy in the mini-auction for the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) in Bengaluru on Sunday. Shaikh ended up attracting a bid greater than West Indies legend Deandra Dottin, while England captain Heather Knight and capped Indians Sneh Rana and Poonam Yadav were among the big names that went unsold.

Gujarat Giants had the biggest purse of Rs 4.4 crore heading into the third WPL auction, and ended up acquiring both Shaikh and Dottin for Rs 1.90 and Rs 1.70 crore respectively. Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter G Kamilini was the third-most expensive player in the auction, with inaugural champions Mumbai Indians acquiring her for Rs 1.60 crore.

The only other player to fetch more than a crore on Sunday was uncapped Indian all-rounder from Uttarakhand Prema Rawat, who was acquired by defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after a bidding war with Delhi Capitals.

The Capitals, who had finished runners-up in both WPL seasons so far, had also engaged in a bidding war with the Giants for Shaikh. GG, who have finished at the bottom of the table in both editions of the world’s premier women’s T20 league, had staved off competition from UP Warriorz in their bid to acquire Dottin, who has 275 international appearances under her belt.

“We are pleased to get the players we wanted. Our priority was to pick players that had a genuine chance of making it to the playing-eleven. We are excited to have Deandra back, especially because of her power with the bat and skill with the ball,” Gujarat Giants coach Michael Klinger said after the auction.

“Simran Shaikh is yet another valuable addition to the team. She brings a lot of power with her and has a rapid strike rate. There are only a handful of players who can do that in women’s cricket. I think she will create a lot of healthy competition within the Indian batters for a place in the team which is what you want in a squad,” added the former Australia batter.

Besides Knight and Rana, India leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and pacer Mansi Joshi as well as England pacer Lauren Bell, former South Africa opener Lizelle Lee and New Zealand pacer Rosemary Mair were some of the other big names who went unsold in Sunday’s auction.

There were only 19 slots to be filled in the mini-auction on Sunday, and all of them were filled.

Here’s the full list of players sold in the WPL 2025 Auction:

Simran Shaikh (India, uncapped) – Rs 1.90 crore, Gujarat Giants

Deandra Dottin (West Indies, capped) – Rs 1.70 crore, Gujarat Giants

G Kamalini (India, uncapped) – Rs 1.60 crore, Mumbai Indians

Prema Rawat (India, uncapped) – Rs 1.2 crore, Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Nallapureddy Charani (India, uncapped) – Rs 55 lakh, Delhi Capitals

Danielle Wyatt-Hodge (England, capped) – Rs 30 lakh, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (traded)

Danielle Gibson (England, capped) – Rs 30 lakh, Gujarat Giants

Alana King (Australia, capped) – Rs 30 lakh, UP Warriorz

Nadine de Klerk (South Africa, capped) – Rs 30 lakh, Mumbai Indians

Akshita Maheshwari (India, uncapped) – Rs 20 lakh, Mumbai Indians

Nandini Kashyap (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Delhi Capitals

Sarah Bryce (Scotland, capped) – Rs 10 lakh, Delhi Capitals

Niki Prasad (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Delhi Capitals

Prakashika Naik (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Gujarat Giants

Sanskriti Gupta (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Mumbai Indians

Joshitha VJ (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Raghvi Bisht (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Jagravi Pawar (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Arushi Goel (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, UP Warriorz

Kranti Goud (India, uncapped) – Rs 10 lakh, UP Warriorz

Here are the updated squads of the five franchises after the auction (bought players in bold):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh, Sophie Molineux, Ekta Bisht, Kate Cross, Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt (traded), Prema Rawat, Joshitha VJ, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar, Niki Prasad

Mumbai Indians: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Hayley Matthews, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver, Pooja Vastrakar, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail, Amandeep Kaur, S. Sajana, Keerthana, Nadine de Klerk, G. Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Akshita Maheshwari

Delhi Capitals: Alice Capsey, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning (c), Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sneha Deepthi, Taniyaa Bhatia, Titas Sadhu, Annabel Sutherland, Nandini Kashyap, Nallapureddy Charani, Sarah Bryce

UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy (c), Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Vrinda Dinesh, Saima Thakor, Poonam Khemnar, Gouher Sultana, Chamari Athapaththu, Uma Chetry, Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud, Alana King

Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney (c), Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam Shakil, Tanuja Kanwer, Phoebe Litchfield, Meghna Singh, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Mannat Kashyap, Bharti Fulmali, Sayali Satghare, Deandra Dottin, Simran Shaikh, Danielle Gibson, Prakashika Naik