WPL Auction: 5 players who went unsold surprisingly
Fans witnessed a thrilling Women’s Premier League 2023 auction with five teams forming their teams from a scratch on February. As expected, teams broke the banks to sign their desired players. One Indian player earned INR 3 crore-plus deal while six players managed to bag INR 2 core-plus contracts for the first season.
However, fans were shocked to see no on bidding for Hayley Matthews in the first round. West Indies captain ranks first in ODI’s all-rounder chart and fourth in T20Is. Further shocks came with the likes of Megan Schutt, Jess Jonassen, Katherine Brunt and Alana King going unsold.
Many big names earned a contract in the last accelerated round but fans were surprised to see a few star players missing out on a chance to play in the first-ever WPL 2023. So, let’s take a look at the top five players who went unsold during the WPL Auction 2023.
5. Sarah Glenn – England
England’s star leg-spinner failed to earn a WPL contract which came as a big surprise for the fans. Spinners were in high demand throughout the auction but the teams hesitated to bid for Glenn, who ranks fourth in the current ICC T20I Bowler’s chart.
4. Danielle Wyatt – England
The experienced English opener was expected to earn a big deal in WPL auction but failed to attract interest. She boasts amazing numbers and has a big experience of playing in T20 franchise cricket, but it was not enough on auction day.
3. Alana King – Australia
Spin all-rounders dominated the WPL Auction 2023 with Ashleigh Gardner, Natalie Sciver, Deepti Sharma and Sophie Ecclestone among the top deals. But there was no place for Australian leg-spinner Alana King, who has been in great form since making her international debut last year.
2. Laura Wolvaardt – South Africa
Laura Wolvaardt was one of the first surprising unsold players. Considered as one of the best openers of this generation with amazing numbers across formats, she was not able to garner attention of any of the five teams.
1. Suzie Bates – New Zealand
It was massive shock to see the leading run-scorer in the T20I cricket going unsold in any auction. Bates, who has almost 8000 runs and 130 wickets in international cricket, went unsold in WPL Auction 2023. She has been in red-hot form with 293 runs from just five T20 innings for Otago Women in the recently concluded Super Smash 2022-23.
