 "WPL 2025 Auction: Date, time, remaining slots, live streaming and everything else you need to know")
The third edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) Player Auction will be taking place less than 24 hours from now, and it remains to be seen if the world’s premier women’s T20 league sets new records this year the way the Indian Premier League did in the mega auction in Jeddah last month.
Senior India opener Smriti Mandhana remains the most expensive player in the league’s brief history, having been sold to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 3.4 crore in the inaugural auction in February last year. The second WPL that had taken place in December later that year witnessed relatively unknown players such as Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh make headlines by becoming overnight crorepatis.
Besides Mandhana, all-rounders Ashleigh Gardner and Natalie Sciver-Brunt of Australia and England respectively were some of the other players who had attracted bids in excess of Rs 3 crore – both going for Rs 3.2 crore each in the inaugural auction.
However, with franchises spending more money than ever in the IPL with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer becoming the most expensive players of all time in last month’s mega auction, it remains to be seen if a similar trend will be witnessed in the WPL.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming WPL auction:
When and where will the player auction for the 2025 Women’s Premier League take place?
The WPL 2025 player auction will be held in Bengaluru on Sunday, 15 December and will be underway from 3 pm.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHello Bengaluru 👋 #TATAWPLAuction is upon us! 🔨 🔜#TATAWPL pic.twitter.com/ZBFwX7A5TV
— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) December 14, 2024
How many players will be going under the hammer in WPL 2025 auction? What are the price brackets?
While more than 400 players had registered for the WPL 2025 player auction, only 120 made it to the final list that was unveiled by the BCCI last week. That includes 91 Indians and 29 overseas players – including three from Associate nations.
Here’s the full breakup of capped and uncapped players for the upcoming auction:
Capped Indians: 9
Capped Overseas: 21
Uncapped Indians: 82
Uncapped Overseas: 8
Total: 120
Some of the major names going under the hammer in the upcoming auction include India’s Poonam Yadav and Sneh Rana, West Indian legend Deandra Dottin, England captain Heather Knight and pacer Lauren Bell as well as Irish-born Australian pacer Kim Garth.
Players included in the final shortlist have been divided into four price brackets – Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, Rs 20 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The 50 lakh category, however, includes just three players – Knight, Dottin and former South Africa opener Lizelle Lee.
Who are the oldest and the youngest players in the WPL 2025 auction?
Australian batter Laura Harris is the oldest player in the WPL 2025 auction shortlist at 34 years of age while Delhi left-arm seamer Anshu Nagar is the youngest at just 13 years old.
How many slots are up for grabs in the WPL 2025 auction?
Just 19 slots are up for grabs among the five franchises, meaning the upcoming event could end more quickly than than the two WPL auctions last year.
Which team has the highest budget for the WPL 2025 auction?
Gujarat Giants have the biggest purse among the five franchises, having Rs 4.4 crore at their disposal. UP Warriorz have Rs 3.9 crore while Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians, who had won the last two editions of the WPL, have Rs 3.25 crore and Rs 2.65 crore respectively.
Delhi Capitals, who had finished runners-up in both seasons of the WPL so far, have the smallest purse of Rs 2.5 crore.
Where can I watch the WPL 2025 player auction live?
The WPL 2025 auction will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network on television and will be streamed live on the JioCinema website and mobile application.
How many players have been retained ahead of the WPL 2025 auction?
Following are the players retained by the five franchises:
RCB: 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)
MI: 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
DC: 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
UPW: 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
GG: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnam Shakil, Tanuja Kanwer, Phoebe Litchfield, Meghna Singh, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Mannat Kashyap, Bharti Fulmali, Sayali Satghare
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