WPL Auction: RCB pick Smriti Mandhana for Rs. 3.4 crore
What's the story
Dashing Indian opener Smriti Mandhana will play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
The franchise bought the southpaw for a whopping Rs. 3.4 crore in the WPL 2023 auction.
The left-handed opener is one of the finest batters going around and her WT20I record is nothing but sensational.
Here we look at her stats.
Stats
A look at her T20I career
Mandhana has been a vital part of India's batting line-up for the last few years.
The swashbuckler is the seventh-highest scorer in women's T20Is.
She has piled up 2,651 runs for India Women at 27.32. Mandhana has slammed 20 fifties.
In 17 matches in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, Mandhana has scored 298 runs at a paltry 18.62.
Captaincy
A potential candidate for captaincy
Notably, Mandhana is also the front-runner to lead RCB in the inaugural edition.
She has so far guided the Women in Blue to six wins in 11 WT20Is as skipper.
The southpaw tallied 199 runs in these games at 24.87. The tally includes one fifty.
Under her leadership, Trailblazers also clinched the 2020 edition of the Women's T20 Challenge.
Details
A look at the five franchises
The Adani Group attained the Ahmedabad-based franchise for Rs. 1,289 crore.
The Mumbai-based side was bagged by Mumbai Indians (MI) owners for Rs. 912.99 crore.
Owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought the Bengaluru-based side for Rs. 901 crore.
Delhi Capitals (DC) owners bagged the Delhi-based team for Rs. 810 crore.
Capri Global acquired the Lucknow-based side for Rs. 757 crore.
Information
WPL to get underway on March 4
Meanwhile, the opener of the inaugural WPL will be played on March 4. The competition will conclude on March 26. A total of 22 games will be played across two venues in Mumbai - DY Patil Stadium and Cricket Club of India (CCI).