Inaugural edition of Women’s Premier League 2023, will kick off on March 4. The player’s auction took place on February 13 with teams spending big bucks to sign their desired players.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made headlines on auction day as they signed star Indian batter Smriti Mandhana for a record INR 3.4 crore and also bagged international stars like Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, and Sophie Devine.
“In terms of bowling, the team has Renuka Singh Thakur, which is a great acquisition for the simple reason that there are not many Indian fast bowlers, and Renuka Singh Thakur at this point in time is the best fast bowler in the country, and she is in the team along with the best batter in the country as well,” Aakash Chopra said in JioCinema’s sports show ‘#AakashVani.
“The player who can play best in the T20 format is Richa Ghosh, whom they have, and in today’s scenario, Richa bats really well in the lower order. So RCB is loaded with a lot of experience and superstars, with the best batter, best bowler, and best striker in Richa Ghosh,” he added.
“So, what they did for the women’s team is, they took Smriti Mandhana for 3.4 crores; it’s a tournament for 3 weeks, and you are getting 3.4 crores for 3 weeks. In the men’s tournament, they have to play for 8 weeks, and in those 8 weeks, they get thrice the amount of 10 crores. Not a single bowl has been bowled in the WPL, and if we talk about pay parity, then women are doing a lot better than men,” Aakash added.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will kick off their campaign against Delhi Capitals at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on March 5.
