On December 15, 2024, Bengaluru hosted the WPL 2025 mini-auction, which lasted for about two hours. That was perhaps the shortest auction held either in the IPL or WPL auction history.
Nevertheless, 19 of the 120 registered players went under the hammer to find their new camps for the next season. Even though it was a short auction, a few players managed to make it a bit spicy.
Most of the players made their way to teams on their base prices. But five women’s cricketers prompted the franchises to shell out handsome bids to make them the costliest buys of this auction.
So here are the top five most expensive players in the WPL 2025 auction.
5. Nallapureddy Charani | 55 Lakh by DC
This 20-year-old all-rounder from Andhra made Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) tussle for her. MI opened the bid at her base price of INR 10 lakh, with DC making the next move.
The price kept rising by five lakhs with each paddle raised from both sides, but DC secured her services on INR 55 lakh to make her the fifth expensive buy in the WPL 2025 auction.
4. Prema Rawat | 1.20 Crore by RCB
DC engaged in yet another bidding war, this time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Once Prema Rawat’s name popped up, RCB raised the paddle to open the bid.
DC followed soon, which saw the price zoom past 1 crore starting from her base price of INR 10 lakh. The defending champions didn’t budge and snapped up the Uttarakhand leg spinner for INR 1.20 crore.
3. G Kamalini | 1.60 Crore by MI
The Capitals were quite busy this auction, going on a head-on battle with MI for G Kamalini. The young Tamil Nadu batter has showcased her talent in the domestic circuit.
After watching her exploits, both teams locked horns to snap the promising talent to bolster their batting lineup. The bid opened at 10 lakh with MI raising the paddle, while DC kept pushing the price up.
The bidding war finally settled on INR 1.60 crore as MI made the winning bid for Kamalini.
2. Deandra Dottin | 1.70 Crore by GG
Deandra Dottin is the most expensive overseas player in the WPL 2025 auction. She turned out to be the only foreigner to get a deal of 50 lakh+ in this auction.
The World Boss had a deal in the first season with Gujarat Giants before the franchise replaced her, citing fitness issues. Things ended in a controversial way back then, but the franchise bought her again two seasons later.
UP Warriorz set the ball rolling with an opening bid of 50 lakh, which ballooned further as GG entered the paddle war. Both teams kept pressing harder, but the Giants prevailed in the end, signing Dottin for INR 1.70 crore.
1. Simran Shaikh | 1.90 Crore by UPW
Simran Shaikh, who featured for UPW in 2023, entered the auction pool after missing the last edition. That seemed to have worked wonders for her, as she became the most expensive player in the WPL 2025 auction.
Shaikh can strike the ball with power, and sensing the need for a hitter, GG purchased her at INR 1.90 crore. But before that, they were at loggerheads with the Capitals, who opened the bid at 10 lakh.
The price kept rolling up, but the Giants persisted and raised a winning bid of INR 1.90 crore to get the uncapped Indian batter.
Read Next | List: Owners of all 5 WPL teams
Leave a Reply