There was no money in the auction, there was a stir in WPL, why is Gautami Nayak in the news?

Gautami Nayak is currently in the news in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 in India. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he played a brilliant inning, which caught everyone’s attention. In the match against Gujarat Giants (GG) on 19 January 2026, RCB had a poor start and early wickets fell early. In such difficult times, Gautami Nayak took charge and scored 73 runs in 55 balls. In this innings he hit 7 fours and 1 six. This was his first half-century in the league.

Thanks to Gautami’s excellent batting, RCB scored 178 runs in 20 overs. In response, Gujarat Giants team could score only 117 runs and RCB won the match by 61 runs. With this win, RCB registered its fifth consecutive win and became the first team to reach the playoffs of WPL 2026.

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Who is Gautami Nayak?

Gautami Nayak is a batting all-rounder. She bats right-handed and also bowls off-spin. She belongs to Maharashtra and has represented the teams of Maharashtra, Baroda and Nagaland in domestic cricket.

She has also previously played in the Maharashtra Premier League (WMPL) with RCB captain Smriti Mandhana. His brilliant performance there (173 runs) impressed the RCB scouts. After this, RCB bought him in the 2026 auction at a base price of Rs 10 lakh.

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Scorecard of GG vs RCB match

In this match, RCB scored 178 runs losing 6 wickets in 20 overs. Gautami Nayak played a brilliant inning of 73 runs and was adjudged player of the match. Captain Smriti Mandhana scored 26 runs and Richa Ghosh scored 27 runs.

Whereas Gujarat Giants team could score only 117 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Ashley Gardner scored the highest score of 54 runs. In RCB’s bowling, Sayali Satghare took 3 wickets for 21 runs, while Nadine de Klerk took 2 wickets.

Gautami Nayak has been working hard in domestic cricket for a long time. 27 year old Gautami started her career with street cricket. Captain Smriti Mandhana has also openly praised him for his achievement.