Auction for the 2024 WPL Season Set to Take Place on December 9th in Mumbai

According to ESPNcricinfo, the upcoming player auction for the 2024 WPL season is scheduled to take place in Mumbai on December 9. Each of the five participating teams will have an additional purse of INR 1.5 crore (approximately US $180,228) at their disposal, in addition to any remaining balance from the previous auction and earnings from player releases.

Auction Details and Team Allocations

In this day-long auction, there are 30 slots to be filled, including nine overseas player slots. Prior to the auction, the five franchises retained a total of 60 players, including 21 overseas players, and released 29. The funds generated from player releases, along with any remaining balance from the previous auction, will be added to the fresh purse of INR 1.5 crore.

During the inaugural WPL season, teams had INR 12 crore (approximately US $1.44 million) to build their squads. Two of the five teams, namely defending champions Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz, had fully utilized their budgets. The remaining three teams, Gujarat Giants had INR 5 lakhs (approximately US $6007), Delhi Capitals had INR 35 lakhs (approximately US $42,053), and Royal Challengers Bangalore had INR 10 lakhs (approximately US $12,015) remaining.

Among these teams, Gujarat Giants, who finished at the bottom of the points table last season, released almost half of their squad and will have the highest purse of INR 5.95 crore (approximately US $714,904), with ten slots available to be filled, including three overseas players. UP Warriorz, who finished mid-table, have INR 4 crore (approximately US $480,608) to fill up five slots, including one overseas player. They are followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished fourth, with INR 3.35 crore (approximately US $402,509) to fill seven slots, including three overseas players.

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Delhi Capitals, the runner-up from the previous season, will have INR 2.25 crore (approximately US $270,342) to fill three slots, including one overseas player. Mumbai Indians will have the smallest purse among the five franchises, INR 2.1 crore (approximately US $252,319), to fill five slots, including one overseas player.

The WPL experienced immediate success in its inaugural season, with top players from around the world participating, with the exception of players from Pakistan. The tournament consisted of 22 matches and was held at three venues in Mumbai. As of now, the BCCI has not communicated the tournament dates for the second edition, and it is unclear whether the tournament will follow the home-and-away format across multiple venues or take place in a single city, similar to the previous season.

At last year’s auction, seven players received bids as high as INR 2 crore, and three players surpassed the INR 3-crore mark, including Smriti Mandhana (INR 3.4 crore), Ashleigh Gardner (INR 3.2 crore), and Nat Sciver-Brunt (INR 3.2 crore).