The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Malika Advani as the auctioneer for the first-ever Women’s Premier League auction (WPL 2023 Auction) that is scheduled to be held on February 13 in Mumbai.
Malika Advani is an art collector consultant for Modern and Contemporary Indian art and a partner in the Art India Consultants firm, in Mumbai.
She has prior experience in conducting sports league auctions as in 2021, she was the auctioneer for the Pro Kabaddi League – becoming the first woman to conduct the auctions in the league.
The auction will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and Advani, who is an auctioneer at the Pundole’s in Mumbai, will conduct the proceedings joining the likes of Hugh Edmeades, Richard Madley, and Charu Sharma as the people to conduct IPL auctions.
A total of 1525 players registered for the inaugural Women’s Premier League Player Auction & the final list was pruned to 409 players.
Also Check: WPL 2023 Auction complete players list
Out of 409 players, 246 are Indians and 163 are overseas players of which 8 players are from associate nations. The total number of capped players are 202, uncapped players are 199 and 8 are from associate nations.
A maximum of 90 slots are available with the five teams, with 30 being slotted for overseas players.
According to WPL 2023 Player Auction Rules, communicated to the five WPL franchises, the five franchises have also been informed that they need to have at least 15 players and the minimum squad spend should be Rs 9 crore.
The value of the full purse is Rs 12 crore and each side is allowed to buy only six foreign players.
“The franchisees are reminded of the WPL squad rules with respect to minimum (15) and maximum (18) squad size, minimum squad spend (INR 9 crore) and the maximum number of overseas players in the squad (6),” BCCI communication read.
The players in the auction register have five different slabs of base prices – Rs 50 lakh, Rs 40 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, Rs 20 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, with 24 players choosing to be slotted in the top bracket.
WPL 2023 is set to be played in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. A total of 22 matches will be played in WPL 2023 with the Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament.
