 "Gujarat Giants officials with Michael Klinger head coach of Gujarat giantsduring the WPL Player Auction held at the ITC Gardenia Hotel in Bengaluru, India on the 15th December 2024 | Photo by Arjun Singh / Sportzpics for WPL")
Mumbai all-rounder Simran Shaikh, known for her ability to smash sixes at will, enhanced her burgeoning reputation by clinching the heftiest pay cheque at the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) mini-auction in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Adani Sportsline-owned Gujarat Giants (GG) splurged Rs 1.9 crore on the 22-year-old after a frenetic bidding war ensued between GG and the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise, which is jointly owned by GMR Group and JSW Group.
Pranav Adani, managing director of agro, oil, and gas, and director, Adani Enterprises, posted on the social media platform X that he is thrilled to welcome Simran Shaikh to Gujarat Giants with a record-breaking bid at the WPL Auction 2025.
"Her incredible journey from the bylanes of Dharavi to the top of women's cricket is a testament to the power of dreams and determination," he added.
Interestingly, Shaikh entered the auction at a base price of Rs 10 lakh.
Shaikh does have WPL experience, having played nine games during the WPL 2022-23 season for the Capri Global-owned UP Warriorz after she was acquired for Rs 10 lakh at the inaugural auction.
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She had gone unsold during last year’s auction.
The frenzy surrounding Shaikh was not understandable. According to the WPL website, Shaikh has a strike-rate of 126.95 in T20s.
She scored 176 runs in the recently concluded Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, with a highest score of 47.
Shaikh conceded that the hefty pay cheque left her “shocked.”
Veteran India player Sneh Rana went unsold.
GG also broke the bank to rope in another big-hitting all-rounder from the Caribbean -- Deandra Dottin.
Dottin, who is currently in India with the West Indies team for the white-ball series, was the costliest among overseas players.
Dottin, 33, a veteran of 132 WT20Is, was one of the three players with a base price of Rs 50 lakh.
Tamil Nadu's 16-year-old sensation, G Kamalini, also secured her career's biggest pay cheque of Rs 1.60 crore from Indiawin Sports-owned Mumbai Indians at the auction.
Kamalini showcased her potential last year, amassing 311 runs to lead Tamil Nadu to a victory in the Under-19 T20 Trophy, according to WPL.
A total of 124 players were auctioned and it concluded with all the 19 slots being filled including 5 overseas players.
The cumulative fund of the WPL at the start of the auction was Rs 16.7 crore. The overall amount spent by WPL teams in this auction stood at Rs 9.05 crore.
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