The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has been generating a lot of buzz as we inch closer to the WPL 2023 auction, which will take place on February 13 in Mumbai. With the Women’s T20 World Cup also around the corner, fans will be in for a treat as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian Women’s cricket team will take on Pakistan a day after the auction.
While some of the biggest names in the world of women’s cricket will go under the hammer, there’s a select group of players that could rake in a lot of money and would be very much in demand – wicketkeepers.
From Australian pair Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney to India’s Yastika Bhatia and recent U-19 World Cup champ Richa Ghosh, some of the aforementioned wicketkeepers could very well spark bidding wars in the auction.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top 5 wicketkeepers in the Women’s Premier League 2023 auction:
#5 Amy Jones (England)
Amy Jones has proved to be a reliable hand behind the stumps in recent years for England, and she has a lot of experience of playing in women’s T20I cricket. She has played 80 matches in the shortest format, scoring 1149 at a strike rate of 119.19.
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The 29-year-old has represented Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League as well, and thus she may fetch a big sum in the WPL auction.
#4 Yastika Bhatia (India)
Current Indian senior team wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia would be in for a massive contract given the fact that Indian players would be very much in demand in the first-ever WPL auction.
Add to that the fact that she’s only 22, and has played quite a lot of cricket of late makes her one of the big names to watch out for. A handy finisher who knows how to time her innings according to the demand of the match, Bhatia has played 13 T20I matches in her career, scoring 125 runs at a strike rate of 86.80.
#3 Richa Ghosh (India)
After Richa Ghosh’s heroic hitting against Australia in the home series in Mumbai, the youngster followed it up by helping the Indian Women’s U-19 side to win the inaugural T20 Women’s U-19 World Cup.
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Despite her tender age of 19, Ghosh has played 30 T20I matches till date and she could be one of the highest-paid players from the squad that won the World Cup in South Africa. Known for her big-hitting, the youngster has scored 427 runs for India, at a healthy strike rate of 134.27. She seems tailor-made for the shortest format and would definitely spark bidding wars in the auction.
#2 Alyssa Healy (Australia)
Australian players have always been in demand in the Men’s IPL, and the WPL is not likely to be much different. Given the dominance of the senior Australian team, many franchises would like to buy Aussie players and they don’t come any bigger than Alyssa Healy.
Known for brutal hitting and ability to finish games, Healy has massive experience of the shortest format, having played 136 matches in her career, scoring 2300 runs at a massive strike-rate of 127.91. The 32-year-old has played for Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League and she could rake in a massive sum in the auction.
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#1 Beth Mooney (Australia)
Beth Mooney is known for her versatility she has stood in for Healy whenever her compatriot has been unavailable.
That doesn’t mean that Mooney is not good with her glovework though, and the 29-year-old has bags of experience, having played 77 T20I matches registering a high score of 177* with an average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 125.30.
She has played for Brisbane Heat, Perth Scorchers, London Spirit and Queensland Women in the past.
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