By the time the first name comes up at the WPL’s mini auction on Wednesday, the third ODI between India and Zimbabwe will have reached somewhere around the halfway mark in Vadodara. India’s middle-order batter Tejal Hasabnis is likely to be curious about what is happening at Grand Hyatt here.
She is one of the 146 players who will go under the hammer. She may have lasted only five balls in her only chance with the bat during the Zimbabwe series, but last month she did really well for India-A against the touring Australia-A.
So Tejal should interest some of the franchises. There could be even more interest in Sneh Rana, the off-spinning all-rounder released by Delhi Capitals.
Sneh is among the biggest names at this mini auction. Others include Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Sophie Molineux, her compatriots Grace Harris and Jess Jonassen, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu and England’s Sophia Dunkley.
Among the capped Indian players are G. Kamalini, Kiran Navgire, Uma Chetry, Taniya Bhatia, Saika Ishaque, Asha Sobhana, Priya Mishra, Titas Sadhu and Saima Thakor. There are some interesting names among the uncapped Indians, too. Like the 16-year-old Ira Jadhav, who last year smashed an unbeaten 346 off 157 balls for Mumbai against Meghalaya in the Women’s Under-19 One-Day tournament. There are only 27 available slots — including 20 reserved for the Indians — though at the auction.
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Going into the auction, UP Warriorz could well be a bit more excited and anxious than the other four franchises. Warriorz has the biggest purse of INR 3.75 crore. That is a lot more than Gujarat Giants (INR 1.25 crore), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (INR 1.15 crore), Delhi Capitals (INR 1.1 crore) or Mumbai Indians (INR 90 lakh).
It would be fascinating to see how Warriorz tries to turn the mini auction into a mega opportunity.
Published on Oct 27, 2026