Indian cricket star Deepti Sharma fetches highest WPL price, Australia captain Alyssa Healy unsold

All-rounder Deepti Sharma, whose player-of-the-tournament performance helped India win the World Cup earlier this month, fetched the highest price at the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction, while Australia captain Alyssa Healy, one of the marquee players up for grabs, went unsold.

UP Warriorz used a "right to match" option to equal Delhi Capitals' bid of INR 3.2 crore (32 million Indian rupees, $549,000) to re-sign 28-year-old Sharma on Thursday, as five franchises spent a total of INR 40.8 crore ($6.99 million) to sign 67 players ahead of the fourth edition of the Twenty20 league.

New Zealand's Amelia Kerr was the second-most-expensive player at the auction held in New Delhi, snapped up for INR 3 crore ($514,000) by defending champions Mumbai Indians, for whom she has played since 2023.

Mumbai, two-time winners of the Indian T20 league, have retained five players, the maximum number of pre-auction retentions allowed by the WPL, including India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, as they looked to keep their core intact ahead of the title defence.

But wicketkeeper-batter Healy, who had played for UP last year, was the shock of the evening as she was the only one among the eight marquee players to go unsold.

There were 10 Australians picked up in the auction, with UP Warriorz securing Meg Lanning for INR 1.9 crore ($326,000) and Phoebe Litchfield for INR 1.2 crore ($205,000).

New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine, who skipped the WPL's 2025 edition, was the subject of an intense bidding war involving three teams, including her former side Royal Challengers Bengaluru, before being secured by Gujarat Giants for INR 2 crore ($342,700).

Delhi, who have lost three WPL finals in a row, were restrained with their bidding after retaining five players, including Indian internationals Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma.

They signed Shree Charani and Chinelle Henry for INR 1.3 crore ($222,700) each, and also picked up South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt for INR 1.1 crore ($188,500).

The WPL's 2026 edition is set to take place from January 9 to February 5 in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. The final will take place two days before India co-hosts the men's T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.

Reuters