WPL Auction 2024 | Athapaththu and Wyatt headline field as the players go under the hammer

Dreams of 165 players come alive as WPL Season 2 auction kicks off in Mumbai. Five teams, 30 slots, and a chance to get their combinations right. MI and DC have settled squads, while Giants have biggest purse. Aussie superstar Alyssa Healy, Chamari Athapaththu, Danni Wyatt, Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Deandra Dottin, Shabnim Ismail, Devika Vaidya, S. Meghana, Meghna Singh, Sushma Verma, Mannat Kashyap, Uma Chetry, Sarah Bryce and Tara Norris in fray.

In this city of dreams, some will be fulfilled and many shattered on Saturday.

The auction for Season 2 of the Women’s Premier League kicks off at 3 p.m. at Grand Hyatt. Players from around the world will be following it keenly. It is their big chance.

Only 30 slots in all — including nine foreigners — are available, from a list of 165, for the five teams.

It may only be a mini auction, but for teams like Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, it is a mega opportunity to get their combinations right after the disappointment in the inaugural WPL.

After releasing 11 of its players, the Giants has the biggest purse (₹5.95 crore), followed by UP Warriorz (4 crore), RCB (3.35 crore), Delhi Capitals (2.25 crore) and Mumbai Indians (2.1 crore). An additional ₹1.5 crore has been made available to each of them.

MI and DC, the champion and the runner-up, needn’t get as excited as the others, having kept most of their main players. They would be keen to build on their settled squads, with an eye on the future, while also looking for a steal or two (UP Warriorz had got Alyssa Healy for ₹70 lakh last year).

The Aussie superstar going for such a low price wasn’t the only surprise, though. Chamari Athapaththu and Danni Wyatt, both game-changing batters, found no buyers, but this time around, paddles should go up when their names are announced by the auctioneer Mallika Sagar.