WPL 2023: 5 players who deserved more money at auction

The road to the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League is off to a rollicking as the player auction took place on February 13 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Many champion cricketers featured at the marquee event, and franchises went hammer and tongs to sign them. Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player of the event as she took home a hefty paycheck of INR 3.4 crore.

However, there were certain top-drawer players who did not garner much attention at the WPL 2023 auction. These cricketers have made world cricket their happy hunting ground and it was quite surprising to see only a few franchises placing bids to acquire them.

Here are five players who deserved more money at the auction:

5. Hayley Matthews - INR 40 lakh

Hayley Matthews has been a bankable name in the international arena. She has scored 1915 runs in 75 ODIs and bagged 89 wickets at an economy of 4.06. Coming to the shortest format, the 24-year-old has scored 1561 runs in 81 T20Is at a strike rate of 104.27 and picked up 76 wickets at an economy of 5.84.

Hayley has held the innings together when the West Indies team has been in choppy waters. Also, she has swiftly switched gears when needed to put the opposition under the pump. On the bowling front, the ace all-rounder has spun the web around the opposition and provided her side with timely breakthroughs.

Therefore, when Hayley arrived at the WPL auction, it was anticipated that many franchises would be interested in signing her. However, it was only Mumbai Indians who bid for the West Indies skipper and she was sold for just INR 40 lakh at the marquee event.