Uncapped Indians Kashvee Gautam, Vrinda Dinesh break bank at WPL auction

Mumbai: Punjab pacer Kashvee Gautam fetched a winning bid of Rs 2 crore from Gujarat Giants at the WPL auction here on Saturday.

The 20-year-old's base price was Rs 10 lakh. Both Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz bid for Kashvee before the former managed to secure her services for the second edition of WPL.

In another big payday for an uncapped Indian cricketer, UP Warriorz bid Rs 1.3 crore for 22-year-old Karnataka batter Vrinda Dinesh.

Both Vrinda and Kashvee had recently featured for India A in their three-match series against England A.

In the early stages, Australian cricketers attracted the highest bids with all-rounder Annabel Sutherland being sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore and batter Phoebe Litchfield to Gujarat Giants for Rs 1 crore.

The 22-year-old Sutherland was released by Gujarat Giants after the inaugural edition of WPL held in March this year. She attracted bids from defending champions Mumbai Indians but they pulled out, with the player eventually going to the Capitals.

Gujarat Giants went for the left-handed 20-year-old Litchfield who has made her debut across formats for Australia.

South Africa fast bowler Shabnim Ismail was added to Mumbai Indians squad for Rs 1.20 crore, three times her base price.

Royal Challengers Bangalore went for Australia’s Georgia Wareham in the earlier stages of the auction, paying Rs 40 lakh for the deal.

RCB also bought England’s Kate Cross for Rs 30 lakh and the 37-year-old Indian spinner Ekta Bisht for Rs 60 lakh, two times her base price. PTI BS BS