New Delhi: After a successful first season, WPL (Women’s Premier League), is back in headlines with its auction for the 2024 season, on Saturday, December 9. There are a total of 30 slots open to fill for the five teams, with nine of those 30 slots, being reserved for the overseas players. All the teams have already retained their big overseas players, such as Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Heather Knight, Sophie Devine, and many more, but there is still a number of players up for grabs in the 2024 auction. Gearing up for the big day 🔨 Are YOU ready❓ Less than 24 hours to go for #TATAWPLAuction 2024⏳ pic.twitter.com/Bwt8XGA01k — Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) December 8, 2023 Today, let’s take a look at the five overseas players who can spark the bidding war amongst the teams in the auction. 1] Chamari Athapathu (Sri Lanka) In the first WPL auction, Athapaththu did not find any buyers despite having a base price of INR 30 lakh, which is the lowest bracket for foreign players. Thereafter, she was not selected for the Women's Caribbean Premier League, the Women's Big Bash League, or the Women's Hundred. However, the skipper of Sri Lanka put up a fantastic performance in 2023 to demonstrate to the teams what they were missing. After being called in as an injury replacement by the WBBL side Sydney Thunders, she took the WBBL by storm and won the Player of the Series award, finishing with 552 runs, the second-most of the season, with a strike rate of 127.18. At an economy rate of just less than seven, she also returned nine wickets with the ball. At the WPL auction, the Sri Lankan veteran can go for big bucks and can even be the most expensive pick. 2] Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia) In 2023, Wellington continues to triumph. She has participated in teams that have won championships in the WBBL, WCPL, and FairBreak Global Invitational Tournament. She did not choose to participate in the first-ever WPL auction after being left out of Australia's T20 World Cup team earlier this year. However, she stole the show in the WCPL final by taking four wickets for the Barbados Royals. Later, Wellington helped the Adelaide Strikers retain their title in the WBBL by taking 23 wickets in the competition that tied for third place in the season. Wellington also bowled the final over of the match. She is a valuable batter lower on the order. Wellington may possibly be the preferred choice because Royal Challengers Bangalore also employs Striker's head coach, Luke Williams. 3] Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) At the last auction, Ismail was purchased by UP Warriorz for INR 1 crore, thanks to fierce bidding. However, she finds herself back in the auction pool this year after playing in just three games during the season. The feisty fast bowler from South Africa showcased her skills in the Women's Hundred, WCPL, and WBBL before quitting international cricket earlier this year. During the Women's Hundred, she claimed 11 wickets, including a hat-trick in the final over that enabled Welsh Fire to defeat Birmingham Phoenix by a small margin. She stopped Phoenix from making four runs in the final three deliveries when they had nine wickets remaining, just one game after her three-for had dismissed Oval Invincibles for eighty. In the WBBL, Ismail claimed 13 wickets for the Hobart Hurricanes, following a four-for for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the World Cricket Premier League final. She can once again spark a bidding war and can also end up being the most expensive player in the auction. 4] Annabel Sutherland (Australia) The Gujarat Giants released Sutherland after playing in four WPL 2023 games, where he only managed to score 28 runs and claimed three wickets at a 10.99 economy rate. She reversed her form in the women's Ashes, making her first-ever Test century in Australia's victory in Nottingham and then taking three wickets in a close Twenty20I defeat to England at The Oval. Australia's lone ODI victory of the multi-format Ashes came thanks in large part to Sutherland's 47-ball 50 at No. 7 when batting. Then, she excelled in the 2023 WBBL, amassing 23 wickets, tied for third most for the season, and scoring 288 runs, the most for the Melbourne Stars. Additionally, she led Stars in Meg Lanning's absence for the final three games of the season. 5] Danielle Wyatt (England) Wyatt, who is one of only three women to have played 150 or more Twenty20 international matches, was upset that, despite offering a basic price of INR 50 lakh, no one took her up on the offer. Only a select few batters in the world of cricket are able to strike the ball hard at the top of the order and easily remove spinners from the game. She was the top batsman for Southern Brave, the Women's Hundred champions, and Southern Vipers, the Charlotte Edwards (CE) Cup winners. Wyatt also scored a match-winning 72 runs against India in the first match of the ongoing T20I series, which makes her one of the prime candidates for being the most expensive player in the auctions.
