WPL 2025 auction provides a great opportunity to add impactful players, says RCB's Williams

New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) Ahead of 2025 WPL auction happening on Sunday, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Luke Williams said the mini auction provides a great chance for them to add players who can be impactful in the tournament.

RCB has retained captain Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Sabbineni Meghana, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Wareham, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Ekta Bisht, Kanika Ahuja and Kate Cross ahead of the auction.

They got England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge via a trade from UP Warriorz for her existing fee of INR 30 lakh. RCB then released the likes of England captain Heather Knight, South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, India all-rounders Shubha Satheesh and Simran Bahadur, as well as uncapped players Disha Kasat, Indrani Roy, and Shraddha Pokharkar.

“We have looked to retain a solid core of the squad that was successful in last year's tournament to maintain that consistency within the team on and off the field. However, the mini-auction does provide a great opportunity for us to keep evolving and add additional players to our line-up that we think could impact the WPL and improve our squad," said Williams in a release issued by the franchise on Saturday.

RCB now have a purse of INR 3.25 crore to go into the WPL auction happening at the ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru on Sunday, and have four slots to fill in and complete their squad of 18. The auction finalist comprises of 120 players – with 91 of them Indian players, nine of which are capped.

It also includes 29 overseas players, including three Associate nations cricketers, who will vie for a maximum of five slots out of 19 spots up for grabs. The five franchises each have a budget of INR 15 crore to build their squads for the 2025 season, which is an increase from INR 13.5 crore in the previous auction.

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