The players’ auction of the Women’s Premier League 2023 took place in Mumbai on Monday (February 13), with Smriti Mandhana emerging out to be the most expensive buy of the maiden league. However, there were many players that went unsold in the bidding event.
England’s star opener, Danni Wyatt, is one among those who did not get a buyer in the WPL auction. Despite having a great track record and experience under her belt, she couldn’t attract any of the five franchises and went unsold in the auction.
Although Wyatt has represented England in 140 T20I matches and has 2276 runs to her name in the shortest format, she still will unfortunately not be part of the marquee event.
The 31-year-old took to Twitter to express her disappointment and wrote: “Dreamt of playing in the WPL. Heartbroken. Congrats to all who got picked up. India is a wonderful place to play cricket.”
Dreamt of playing in the WPL. Heartbroken 💔 Congrats to all who got picked up. India is a wonderful place to play cricket
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) February 14, 2023
Apart from Wyatt, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt also did not get a buyer, and the list of unsold players is full of many other popular names like them. Nevertheless, it was something many saw coming as there were only 90 slots available for the WPL 2023.
On the other hand, apart from Mandhana, India’s Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues were among the auction’s top five buys. While Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) roped in Mandhana for Rs 3.4 crore, Deepti (Rs 2.6 crore) and Jemimah (Rs 2.2) were bought by UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals.
Notably, RCB’s buys were the most talked about in the auction. Along with Mandhana, they also bagged Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight and Richa Ghosh to further strengthen their line-up.
