Watch: India Women players go wild as Bangalore buy the services of Smriti Mandhana for whopping INR 3.4 Cr
Bangalore bought Smriti Mandhana for whopping INR 3.4 Cr at the auction on Monday.
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Feb 13, 2023 6:56 pm
Smriti Mandhana (Source – Twitter)
India women’s team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was sold to the Bangalore franchise for the inaugural 2023 Women’s T20 League. The star cricketer was purchased by Bangalore for a whopping Rs. 3.4 crore who was placed for a base price of Rs. 50 lakh. She made history by being the first cricketer to be sold in the Women’s T20 League player auction.
Mandhana, along with the Indian women’s players, watched the auction live on television. She was seen overjoyed after getting picked up by the Bangalore side. The India opening batter also hugged her India teammates as they congratulated her on her new venture.
Here we go 🔥 Fireworks on the first ball itself! 🎇
There was a massive bid between the Mumbai Franchise and Bangalore Franchise for the star player. Bangalore bounced back with an improved bid and eventually acquired the services of the India vice-captain at a massive sum of 3.4 crore, which also is the highest bid in the player auction.
The second most expensive Indian player is all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who was bought by UP franchise for Rs 2.6 crore. Besides Mandhana, the Bangalore side has roped Australia’s star all-rounder Ellyse Perry after a mini bidding war with Delhi Franchise and bought her services for INR 1.7 crore. They also got New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine at base price of Rs 50 lakh.
During a media interaction after the auction, Bangalore’s director of Cricket, Mike Hesson revealed the chances of naming Mandhana as the captain.
“Everyone knows Mandhana and Perry, we were pretty committed to the couple of people we wanted to get. We’re very happy to get such quality players. It’s a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Devine,” he said.
“Smriti has got plenty of captaincy experience and is familiar with the Indian conditions, so highly likely (she’ll be the captain),” he added.
India women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was the second player sold in the Women’s T20 League Player auction. Harmanpreet was sold to Mumbai franchise for a sum of Rs. 1.8 crore. In a massive bidding war, Mumbai franchise beat Delhi Franchise, UP franchise, and Bangalore franchise to acquire the services of India captain.
