At 15 Years And 210 Days, Sonam Yadav Youngest Player to be Sold at WPL Auction

Team India left-arm spinner Sonam Yadav became the youngest player to find a team in the Women’s Premier League. The 15-year-210-day-old spinner was bought by Mumbai Indians for INR 10 lakh at the WPL Auction 2023 on Monday. Yadav was part of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning squad as she claimed 5 wickets in the tournament. Born in Uttar Pradesh, Sonam started playing cricket at the age of 13, while she has represented Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit.

Apart from Sonam, another 15-year-old Shabnam Shakil grabbed attention in WPL Auction as Gujarat Giants signed her for INR 10 Lakh. The Andhra Pradesh medium pace was also part of the U-19 WC winning campaign where she played just two matches and claimed a wicket against UAE. The Andhra bowler is known for clocking 110 kmph at regular intervals which might have grabbed Mithali Raj’s (Gujarat’s mentor) attention. While she considered legendary India pacer Jhulan Goswami her role model.

WPL Auction 2023 Highlights

The duo didn’t get buyers in the early attempts but in the final accelerated session, Gujarat and Mumbai signed them to fill-in their squads for the inaugural season which will start next month.

Meanwhile, star India opener Smriti Mandhana emerged as the costliest player in the auction as Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him for INR 3.4 crore.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians engaged in a tussle alongside RCB, Delhi Capitals (DC) and UP Warriorz to get the services of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, which ended in them roping her in for INR 1.8 crore

Off-spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma was the second most-expensive Indian player with INR 2.6 crores paycheck by UP Warriorz.

WPL Auction 2023: Meet Jasia Akhtar, First Kashmiri Cricketer Roped in by Delhi Capitals For Rs 20 Lakh

While Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner and England’s Natalie Sciver were the join-most expensive overseas players at the auction. Gujarat Giants signed Gardner for INR 3.2 crore, while Sciver joined Mumbai Indians for the same amount.

While a total of 87 players were sold at the Auction as the five franchises spent a combined Rs 59.5 crore on Monday.

The two 15-year-olds attracted the bids but some star players including Laura Wolvaardt, Danni Wyatt, Alana King, Sune Luus, Lizelle Lee, Chamari Athapaththu and Suzie Bates failed to get any buyers in the Auction.

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