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The mega auction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) took place in New Delhi on Thursday. The names of 128 players came up in the auction that lasted 5 and a half hours, but only 67 could be sold. Rs 40.80 crore were spent on these. 23 foreign and 44 Indian players were bought in the auction.
2-time champions Mumbai Indians bought back their core team. Whereas Delhi Capitals could not include captain Meg Lanning, UP Warriors bought her for Rs 1.90 crore. RCB bought Australia’s Georgia Woll to support Smriti Mandhana.
Strengths and weaknesses of 5 WPL teams…
1. Delhi Capitals- Wicketkeeper position is weak 3-time runner-up Delhi Capitals had released captain Meg Lanning before the mega auction. The team tried to buy them in the auction, but they became part of UP. The team then bought strong players like Laura Wolwart, Sneh Rana and Shinelle Henry. Delhi can make Jemimah Rodriguez or Annabel Sutherland the captain.
- Strength- The team further strengthened its batting department with the inclusion of Volvaart, Shinle and Sneh. Wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee is also present as a backup opener. The experience of Shefali, Jemima, Marijan and Sutherland is making the team even stronger. The bowling is balanced due to the spin of Mr. Charani.
- Weakness- To include wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee in the playing-11, Wolwart and Shinnley will have to be kept on the bench. If Volwart is played, then Tania Bhatia, whose batting is weak, will have to be kept at the wicketkeeper position. The last two spots in bowling also seem weak, in such a situation only the all-rounders of the team will have to take wickets.
Possible playing-11 Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt/Shinele Henry, Jemimah Rodriguez, Marijan Kapp, Annabel Sutherland, Nikki Prasad, Tania Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana, Sri Charani, Minnu Mani, Lucy Hamilton.
2. Mumbai Indians- All-rounders are very strong 2023 and 2025 champion Mumbai Indians had retained 5 players. The team focused only on buying its previous players in the initial rounds. So they bought Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail. The team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur also has explosive batsmen like Nate Siver Brunt and Hailey Mathews.
- Strength- Mumbai had won the first season on the basis of 7 players, at that time only 4 players of the playing-11 were fielding. This time there are 8 such players who can help the team win in any situation in both batting and bowling departments.
- Weakness- Yuvaji Kamalini will handle the wicketkeeper position of the team, fitting her in the playing-11 may prove costly for the team. Even in the bowling department, there are no strong players in the last two spots.
Possible playing-11 Hayley Matthews, G Kamalini (wk), Natalie Siever-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Sajeevan Sajna, Saika Ishaq, Shabnim Ismail, Poonam Khemnar, Sanskriti Gupta.
3. Royal Challengers Bangalore- Strong all-rounders, weak bowling 2024 champion Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had retained 4 players. In the auction, the team bought Georgia Woll, Nadine de Klerk, Grace Harris and Radha Yadav. The team could not buy previous opener Sophie Devine, but Grace Harris and Georgia Woll will be present to fill her void.
- Strength- On the basis of its all-rounders and finishers, RCB has the power to chase the biggest score. Mandhana, Perry, Richa, De Klerk, Vastrakar, Harris all play shots freely. In the bowling department, England has strong players like Lauren Bell, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav.
- Weakness- The players supporting Mandhana in the opening position are not strong. Harris and Vastrakar struggle with injuries, so they can spoil the team combination. There is a shortage of wicket takers in the bowling department.
Possible playing-11 Smriti Mandhana (captain), Georgia Woll/Grace Harris, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Pooja Vastrakar, Nadine de Klerk, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Dayalan Hemalatha/Prema Rawat, Lauren Bell.
4. UP Warriors – The strongest team of the auction UP Warriors, who played the playoffs for the only time in 2023, had retained only one player. The team took advantage of the big purse and bought strong players like Meg Lanning, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Eckelston, Deepti Sharma and Phoebe Litchfield. The bowling department is also strong.
- Strength- There is a strong top order in the form of Lanning, Lichfield, Navgire and Dottin. In bowling, Sobhana, Kranti, Norris and Eckelston are also present, who have the ability to take wickets at important times. With the presence of Norris from America, the team can keep 5 foreign players in the playing-11.
- Weakness- Didn’t pay attention to buying wicketkeeper, the responsibility will be on uncapped Kshipra Giri. The onus of finishing will be on Deepti, Eccleston and Shikha Pandey, who are not very strong here.
Possible playing-11 Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Deandra Dottin, Pratika Raval/Harleen Deol, Kiran Navgire, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Eckelston, Shikha Pandey, Kshipra Giri (wk), Asha Sobhana, Kranti Gaur/Tara Norris.
5. Gujarat Giants- Bowling weak, batting strong Gujarat Giants, which reached the playoffs last season, retained only 2 players. In the auction, the team strengthened the batting by buying Sophie Divine, Bharti Phoolmali, Yastika Bhatia. However, the bowling department looks weak.
- Strength- The team has strong top order players in the form of Mooney, Devine and Gardner. Georgia Wareham and Kim Garth can be brought in as needed, both are strong.
- Weakness- There is no strength in the bowling department. Kashvi, Titas, Tanuja and Kanika are young and can crumble under the pressure of big matches. In such a situation, the bowling pressure on Gardner will also increase.
Possible playing-11 Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Yastika Bhatia, Ashley Gardner, Bharti Phoolmali, Georgia Wareham/Kim Garth, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwar/Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Renuka Singh, Kashvi Gautam, Titas Sadhu.
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