Indias star opener and vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, emerged as the most expensive player in the first-ever auction for the Womens Premier League (WPL) on Monday.

Mandhana, 26, was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 3.4 crore in an auction dominated by Indian gamers. This remained in contrast to the gamer auctions for the guyss Indian Premier League, which is usually controlled by foreign gamers. Abroad women players such as English cricketer Natalie Sciver, 30, and Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, 25, came close to Mandhanas final cost, having been selected up for Rs 3.2 crore each by Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, respectively. The 2nd costliest Indian player was all-rounder Deepti Sharma, 25, who was purchased by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 crore, while the captain of the Indian nationwide squad, Harmanpreet Kaur, went to Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.8 crore. Though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the organiser of the WPL, had revealed a list of 409 players before the auction, this number was increased to 449 players at the last minute at the request of the 5 franchises participating in the auction.