WPL auction 2024: Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Banglore eyes plug the gaps; MI, DC, UPW keen to fine tune squads

With the second season of the Women's Premier League set to be held next year, BCCI has released a list of 165 players which are going to be a part of the bidding process. The auction be scheduled on 9th December in Mumbai with 104 Indians and 61 overseas cricketers to be on the radar of the franchises.

Mumbai: Gujrat Giants (GG), a team which has the biggest purse would look to fill the gaps in the squad by doing healthy shopping of players in the auction on Saturday ahead of the upcoming Women’s Premier League 2024 after a disappointing season. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriors and Delhi capitals would look to fine-tune their squads.

Gujarat finished at the bottom of the table in the inaugural edition held in Mumbai last year while Royal Challengers Bangalore women’s team played like the men’s teams in Indian Premier League as they had some big names in the team but failed to perform as per expectations and finished second last.

A total of 165 players -- 104 Indians and 61 overseas, including 15 from Associate nations -- will take the part for the 30 spots, including nine overseas in the Women's Premier League (WPL) mini-auction. The auction will feature 56 capped and 109 uncapped players.

The schedule of the second edition of the WPL is not released yet but it is likely to be organized in February-March ahead of the IPL. Unlike the inaugural edition, which was held in one city, the 2024 edition will take place in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Players and base price:

West Indies opener' Deandra Dottin, who was controversially excluded from the Gujarat Giants the squad ahead of the start of the first season on medical grounds has set the highest base price of Rs 50 lakhs, becoming the only second player after Australian cricketer Kim Garth, who reportedly replaced Dottin in the Giants' squad.

Australia all-rounders Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham, who both played in the inaugural WPL, have a base price of Rs 40 lakh. South Africa's pacer Shabnim Ismail and England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones are the other two cricketers with a base price of Rs 40 lakh.

Veteran Indian cricketers Veda Krishnamurthy, Poonam Raut, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Gouher Sultana and Mona Meshram are in the auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakh.

Australia's Erin Burns and Sophie Molineux, England's Danni Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu and South Africa's Nadine de Klerk are the other prominent names in the Rs 30-lakh bracket.

Available slots in the teams

The Gujarat Giants' table could be the busiest during the auction as along with the biggest purse Rs 5.95 crore comes the task of finding 10 new players to rebuild their squad after a forgettable first season.

Australia's Beth Mooney got injured in the first game and was ruled out of the tournament. India all-rounder Sneh Rana led the for most part of the season. They have would look to reinforce their strength as they have let go of some quality overseas players such as Sutherland, Wareham, Garth and Sophia Dunkley.

Thailand's 19-year-old Thipatcha Putthawong, who has already played 42 T20Is and has a brilliant economy rate of 4.14, has sparked a lot of interest in the RCB camp. Notably, Smriti Mandhana led side have lost six of their eight matches in the last edition, resulting in missing the place in the playoffs. Women in Red have Rs 3.35 crore in their pocket and need only seven players, including three overseas, to complete their squad limit of 18 players.

The runners-up Delhi Capitals must be eyeing for a fast bowler given they released the only player from Associate nations, United States' Tara Norris, who also recorded the first five-wicket haul of the competition. Meg Lanning-led side have a purse of Rs 2.25 crore and have a maximum limit of adding three players, including one overseas, since their squad strength stands at 15 going into the auction. UP Warriorz will have Rs 4 crore to work with as they look to fill five slots, including one overseas.

For a side, which finished third in the five-team competition, there were many promising performances under captain Alyssa Healy. However, having let go of someone as skilled and experienced as South Africa's Ismail, UP Warriorz can be expected to go for another frontline fast bowler to bolster their attack along with filling the void created by the exit of Devika Vaidya.

Champions Mumbai Indians will also have five players to add to their bench, including one overseas, when they get into the action. With a purse of Rs 2.1 crore, MI did not suffer much in terms of the players released as their core remains intact, and so does skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's strategy of stacking the playing XI with all-rounders.