Kochi, Oct 28 (IANS) Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made their first signing of the 2027Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction by landing Australia’s left-arm spin all-rounder Jess Jonassen for Rs 40 lakh here on Wednesday.
Two-time champions Mumbai Indians picked up promising batter Saanika Chalke and Gujarat Giants signed 16-year-old Samaira Raghav as the accelerated round got under way. Jess, who played three seasons for Delhi Capitals, was the first player to go under the hammer in the accelerated round.
RCB, who had not bid for anyone until then, got the left-arm spinning all-rounder at her base price. She is currently out of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) with a neck injury but is expected to be fit by January.
MI bought Saanika, a 20-year-old left-handed top-order batter, for her base price of Rs 10 lakh. A member of India’s 2025 Under-19 T20 World Cup-winning squad, Saanika first made headlines with a double hundred for Mumbai in an Under-19 one-day match against Sikkim in 2022.
She was the leading run-getter in the Mumbai T20 league earlier this year with 223 runs from five matches, and struck 85 off 53 balls against Jharkhand in the ongoing Senior Women’s T20 Trophy just ahead of the auction.
GG used their final slot on 16-year-old Delhi all-rounder Samaira by signing her for Rs 10 lakh. She was one of four players added to the auction list on the eve of the auction. UP Warriorz continued their busy evening by adding three more players: Scotland all-rounder Kathryn Bryce and uncapped India all-rounders Manali Dakshini and Sahana Pawar, each for Rs 10 lakh.
Kathryn found a buyer even though her sister, wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce, went unsold earlier in the day. Delhi Capitals signed 15-year-old uncapped all-rounder Uma Kashvi by bidding for her at the last moment, and Scotland left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon, both for Rs 10 lakh. Gordon played five T20Is and a Test for England, including the 2018 T20 World Cup final, before switching to Scotland, and will now be considered an Associate player.
The accelerated round took the number of players sold at the auction so far to 18, leaving nine slots still to be filled across the franchises in the next round. Several players went unsold in the round, including India’s leg-spin bowling all-rounder Devika Vaidya, who recently returned to competitive cricket after motherhood.
The others to miss out were uncapped India batters Pranavi Chandra, Ira Jadhav and Tanisha Ohlan, wicketkeeper-batter Khushi Bhatia, all-rounders Nazma Khan and Triveni Vasistha, and Palak Singh. Among the overseas players, UAE captain Esha Oza, Australian left-arm pacer Milly Illingworth and New Zealand pacer Bree Illing, another late addition to the players pool list, found no takers.
