CRICKET | Dottin, Ismail, Athapaththu, and Meghna could be in spotlight at WPL auction

West Indian Deandra Dottin and Australia's Kim Garth are the only two players to have chosen the highest reserve price of Rs. 50 lakh for the Women's Premier League. 165 players, including 104 Indians and 61 from associate nations, will go under the hammer. Six cricketers have put themselves in the Rs. 40 lakh bracket. Dottin was bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 60 lakhs, but was released before the tournament. 29 players were released by the franchises, while 60 were retained. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have smaller purses for Season 2.

West Indian Deandra Dottin and Australia’s Kim Garth are the only two players to have opted for the highest reserve price of Rs. 50 lakh for the Women’s Premier League, to be held in Mumbai on December 9.

As many as 165 players will go under the hammer ahead of the second edition of the league. Of them, 104 are Indians; of the 61 overseas players, 15 are from associate nations. There are 56 capped players and 109 uncapped.

A total of 30 slots are available for the five franchises. Nine of those slots are for overseas players.

Four cricketers have put themselves in the Rs. 40 lakh bracket: Australians Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham, England’s Amy Jones and South African Shabnam Ismail.

Meghna Singh, S. Meghana and Devika Vaidya are among the capped players from India; they have a price base of Rs. 30 lakh each, as has Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu, who had gone surprisingly unsold last season.

Dottin was bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs. 60 lakhs, but the franchise released her on medical grounds before the tournament started. She, however, disputed that claim.

The franchise replaced her with Garth. But she was among the 11 players released by Giants, which topped the list when the teams announced the list of players released and retained.