'One more number 18' - Twitter reacts as Smriti Mandhana bags INR 3.4 crore deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Women’s Premier League 2023 auction kicked off on February 13, Monday and the historic event started off with Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana getting under the hammer. Mumbai Indians opened the bid at INR 50 lakh, and Royal Challengers Bangalore triggered a bidding war. The two sides gave their all for the prolific senior opening batter, and it was RCB who finally roped her in for a whopping INR 3.4 crore.

Mandhana has been a part of the Indian setup since 2013, and has secured her place as the team’s regular opener. While India is currently competing in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Mandhana missed the first game against Pakistan on Sunday, February 12, due to a finger injury that she sustained during the warm-up game. But she will be expected to be back for India’s rest of the campaign.

Speaking of her experience in franchise cricket, Mandhana has led the Trailblazers at the Women’s T20 Challenge which was played for four seasons. While the Supernovas won three editions of the tournament, Smriti led the Trailblazers to their only victory in 2020, when the Women in Pink defeated the then-two-time defending champions Supernovas.

Smriti has also played the Women’s Big Bash League, having represented the Brisbane Heat Women and the Sydney Thunder Women. She also played both editions of England’s franchise tournament, The Hundred and represented the Southern Brave while opening the batting order for the team. Interestingly, the Brave made it to the finals in both editions but lost to the Oval Invincibles.

Mandhana is India’s vice-captain and has led the Women in Blue on several occasions in the absence of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Given her record as a captain, she will be the leading captaincy choice for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. At the end of the first round of the auction, Mandhana became the highest earner. Having registered at a base price of INR 50 lakh, Mandhana bagged INR 3.4 crore and became the first member of RCB.

Here's how Twitter reacted:

Join us in welcoming the first Royal Challenger, Smriti Mandhana! 😍

Welcome to RCB 🔥#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #WPL2023 #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/7q9j1fb8xj

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 13, 2023

Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana for RCB.

King and Queen of World Cricket. pic.twitter.com/a3G0W0h9VL

— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) February 13, 2023

🔨 HERE WE GO! Smriti Mandhana will play for RCB in the inaugural WPL.

🙌 RCB will have one more number 18 playing for them now!

📷 Getty • #WPL #WPLAuction #TeamIndia #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/00bzXNroRB

— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) February 13, 2023

Smriti Mandhana.
Ellyse Perry.
Sophie Devine.

- What a start by RCB to the WPL auction!

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 13, 2023

Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry will be playing for RCB.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 13, 2023

RCB has got their Captain in Smriti Mandhana. 🫶❤️ pic.twitter.com/Sq8vYMWG8H

— Aditya (@Adityakrsaha) February 13, 2023

RCB have spent almost 50 per cent of their purse on just three players

Smriti Mandhana
Sophie Devine
Ellyse Perry#WPLAuction

— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) February 13, 2023

Smriti Mandhana.
Ellyse Perry.
Sophie Devine.

- What a start by RCB to the WPL auction!#WPLAuction #WPL2023 #WomensIPL pic.twitter.com/BzXfyZbzpQ

— Harshwardhan Singh 🇮🇳 (@Harshwardhan__8) February 13, 2023

Watch Here: WPL Auction Live