Smriti Mandhana was the star presence among Indian players in the women’s player draft for The Hundred while Richa Ghosh bagged a deal of GBP 50,000 (around Rs 61 lakh). India allrounder Deepti Sharma also earned a contract during the auction on Wednesday.
A total of 178 players went under the hammer in the draft, while 28 players had earlier been retained or signed directly by franchises ahead of the auction.
The Hundred is scheduled to start on July 21 and end on August 16.
Manchester Super Giants made the solitary bid which was enough to snap up Richa Ghosh for GBP 50,000. Before the auction, Super Giants had strengthened their squad by directly signing Mandhana along with Australia’s Meg Lanning, while the franchise had retained England spinner Sophie Ecclestone
Meanwhile, Deepti, was picked by SunRisers Leeds for GBP 27,500 (approx 34 lakh). The franchise opened the bidding and faced no further counter to bag the allrounder. India’s Yastika Bhatia and Sree Charani went unsold in the draft.
On the other hand, no Pakistani players managed to secure a deal in the women’s draft of The Hundred. Left-handed batter Muneeba Ali, right-arm fast bowler Diana Baig, left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana had all entered the draft with a base price of £15,000.
Out of the four, only Sadia Iqbal, who is currently the top-ranked bowler in women’s T20Is and Fatima Sana made it to the final shortlist for the auction. However, when the bidding began, neither of them attracted any offers from the franchises.
Each women’s franchise of The Hundred had a purse of GBP 880,000 to make their squads. After direct signings and retentions, Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Southern Brave and Trent Rockets were left with a purse of GBP 520,000 each, ahead of the auction.
Manchester Super Giants, MI London, SunRisers Leeds and Welsh Fire had slightly larger purse, with GBP 570,000 remaining before bidding began.
