WPL 2023: 5 batters who can trigger bidding war at auction

The long-awaited inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is around the corner. The T20 extravaganza is likely to take place between March 4 and March 26. Before the kick-start of the high-profile tournament, the five franchises are set to assemble for the WPL 2023 auction. The marquee event is reported to take place either on February 11 or February 13.

The player auction will witness T20 stars from around the world go under the hammer and teams are expected to leave no stone unturned to add them to their repertoire. Among the top-drawer players, there are certain gun batters who could garner a lot of interest at the auction table and might even trigger a bidding war between the franchises.

Here are five batters who can trigger a bidding war at the auction

5. Shafali Verma 

Shafali Verma has taken the international arena by storm with her breathtaking performances. She has taken the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and provided the Women in Blue with brisk starts. She has featured in 51 T20Is and scored 1231 runs at a strike rate of 134.53. 

Shafali displayed her batting prowess in the T20I series against Australia in December 2022. She hammered the opposition's bowlers all across the ground and scored 140 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 134.51. She was in pristine touch in the recently concluded Under-19 Women's World Cup 2023 as well and smashed 172 runs in seven games at a stunning strike rate of 193.25.

In a rapidly evolving T20 format, playing an aggressive brand of cricket has become the need of the hour and Shafali is someone who embodies the approach. Moreover, she can be a good captaincy option, having done a superb job of leading India's Under-19 team to glory at the Under-19 World Cup. Therefore, many WPL franchises might be interested in signing the opening batter at the upcoming player auction.