The inaugural Women’s Premier League 2023 auction began on Monday, February 13.
Before the player auctions began, BCCI President Roger Binny, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, and Arun Dhumal unveiled the tournament’s logo.
The logo is a silhouette of a female cricket player striking a bat, with the name of the tournament printed next to it.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🙌 🙌
🎥 Presenting the Women’s Premier League (WPL) Logo 👏 👏#WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/zHxTZ1Pc6z
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) February 13, 2023
Following the unveiling of the logo, the first round of the auction commenced, which included prominent international figures. Smriti Mandhana was the first player to go under the hammer. After a bidding war between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the latter paid a record INR 3.4 crore for her services, making her the top earner of the group.
RCB then inked two more lucrative contracts with Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine. They established a solid foundation for their team in the first round prior to securing the services of India’s pace phenom Renuka Singh Thakur. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians paid INR 1.8 crore to acquire Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
In a bidding war between Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz, the Gujarat Giants secured the services of Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner for INR 3.2 crore after outbidding them. All clubs did their utmost to acquire the greatest international players in the very first round, which sparked widespread discussion. The inaugural Women’s Premier League will begin on March 4, 2023, and conclude on March 26, 2023, with the championship match between the top two teams.