Sophies Molineux and Dunkley set maximum base price of ₹50 lakhs at WPL mini auction

Australian captain Sophie Molineux and English opener Sophie Dunkley are the only players who have put themselves at the maximum base price of ₹50 lakhs for the WPL’s mini auction to be held at Kochi on October 28.

As many as 146 players are in the list released by the BCCI. Only 27 slots are available, though, across the five franchises. Among them, UP Warriorz has the biggest purse — ₹3.75 crore.

Gujarat Giants is left with ₹1.25 crore, while the defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru could spend ₹1.15 crore at the auction. Delhi Capitals has a purse of ₹1.1 crore and Mumbai Indians ₹90 lakh.

After Molineux and Dunkley, the players with the highest price tags are G. Kamalini, Kiran Navgire and the Australian duo of Heather Graham and Jess Jonassen, at ₹40 lakh.

Available at the base price of ₹30 lakh are some big names, including Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Chloe Tryon, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Sneh Rana.

Of the players going under the hammer are 27 from overseas, including six from associate nations. Of the 119 Indians, 22 are capped.

Twenty slots are reserved for Indian players. Ahead of the auction, Mumbai Indians had traded the American left-arm seamer Tara Norris from UP Warriorz for ₹10 lakh. That leaves UP Warriorz with eight slots to fill at the mini auction. MI could add six more players, while RCB and Delhi Capitals could bid for five each and Gujarat Giants three.