In Mumbai, a staggering total of 165 cricketers will be up for grabs, with 104 players hailing from India and 61 from overseas, including 15 from associate nations.
The Women's Premier League (WPL) is set to return, captivating cricket enthusiasts worldwide as they tune in to their televisions on December 9 for the highly anticipated WPL 2024 auction. In Mumbai, a staggering total of 165 cricketers will be up for grabs, with 104 players hailing from India and 61 from overseas, including 15 from associate nations.
This auction promises to be a spectacle, with intense bidding wars expected to unfold. Leading the pack are Deandra Dottin and Kim Garth, commanding a hefty base price of Rs 50 lakh. Not far behind, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Weareham, Amy Jones, and Shabnim Ismail have been listed at a base price of Rs 40 lakh.
In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer and Jio Cinema WPL expert, shared his insights on the upcoming auction. He identified two players who possess the potential to ignite a fierce bidding war.
"I am going with Chamari Athapaththu and Deandra Dottin. Between the two, because they are multi-dimensional players. There is a unique thing actually in women's cricket. It is not something that we see very often with men's cricket, which is the multi-dimensional cricketing skills. I think all women are multi-taskers and most men are very uni-dimensional. So, these two," he said.
Last year, the Sri Lankan captain, Athapaththu, was surprisingly left unpicked in the auction, leaving numerous fans and experts astounded. In contrast, Dottin was selected by the Gujarat Giants for a substantial sum of Rs 60 lakh, with the bidding commencing at Rs 50 lakh. However, much to everyone's disappointment, she was unable to participate in the entire season due to controversial circumstances.
"This whole tournament is littered with some great all-rounders and these two were missing out in action last year and they will add value. I mean Deandra Dottin can actually strike the ball and so can Chamari Athapaththu to be honest," he said.
Prior to WPL 2023, ESPNCricinfo reported that Dottin was in the process of recovering from a medical condition. However, her response to this news was nothing short of remarkable. Dottin took to Instagram and shared a story, in which she uploaded a screenshot of the report, vehemently refuting any claims of being medically unfit.
She wrote, "Get well soon from what if I may ask?"
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