Correct Answer : Option (B) - Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana on Monday (13th Feb 2023) received the highest bid of ₹3.4 crore for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League(WPL) auctions held in Mumbai.

* Mandhana, whose bidding began at a base price of ₹50 lakh, was finally sold to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

* RCB and Delhi Capitals were the main contenders in the bidding war.

* Deepti Sharma raked in ₹2.6 crore and will represent the team from Lucknow, owned by Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd, UP Warriorz.

* Jemimah Rodrigues went for ₹2.2 crore to Delhi Capitals, which also bought under-19 captain Shafali Verma for ₹2 crore.

* Richa Ghosh was sold to RCB for ₹1.9 crore. 

* Harmanpreet Kaur ( ₹1.8 crore) to Mumbai Indians

* Renuka Singh ( ₹1.5 crore) to RCB.

* Pooja Vastrakar was sold for ₹1.9 crore to Mumbai Indians.

* The five teams for this year are RCB, Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Mumbai Indians.

* The highest bid for an international player was by Mumbai Indians, which picked up England’s Natalie Sciver for ₹3.2 crore.

* Wicketkeeper-batter from Australia, Beth Mooney, was sold to the Gujarat Giants for ₹2 crore, while Ellyse Perry was sold to RCB for ₹1.7 crore.

* Tahlia McGrath went to UP Warroirz for ₹1.4 crore.

* Out of 1,525 players who were registered for the auction, 409 made it to the final list, comprising 246 Indians and 163 overseas players. There were also eight players from associate nations. All five teams had a salary purse of ₹12 crore per team for this edition.

* Tuhin Mishra, co-founder and managing director of Baseline Ventures, which manages players like Mandhana and under-19 skipper Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia and Richa Ghosh, said the auction created history..

Source : Mint