Smriti Mandhana stole the limelight during the first-ever Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai. She was the first and costliest buy in the auction ahead of the inaugural edition of women’s premier T20 competition in India. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) splurged out a massive sum of ₹3.4 Crore to avail the services of the middle-order star.
After the 26-year-old went under the hammer, the cricketing fraternity started to make comparisons between the money paid by the Bengaluru-based franchise. It sees the female cricketer earn a pay cheque higher than some male counterparts, which includes many players from the Pakistani Super League (PSL), with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam also a part of the list.
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Twitterati has not shied away from comparing the WPL stars’ earnings to the male members of the Pakistan national cricket team. PSL follows a draft system which sees players categorized in various levels, with platinum players like Azam earning approx ₹1.4 Crore. Following RCB’s signing of Smriti Mandhana, the Indian star is all set to pocket a salary that’s double what Pakistan’s national team captain earns for playing in his country’s domestic T20 tournament.
Babar Azam and Co vs WPL pic.twitter.com/aG0nJE237g
— Akash Kharade (@cricaakash) February 13, 2023
No Bid for Babar Azam in#WPLAuction2023
😳😳🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/K7S5IAM29R— Cricastic (@writter_vambu) February 13, 2023
Babar Azam and other Pakistani players while watching this Auction.#WPLAuction #WomensIPL pic.twitter.com/RAlP4rSgeD
— Jai Upadhyay (@jay_upadhyay14) February 13, 2023
Smriti Mandhana 3.4 Crore (RCB)
Deepti Sharma 2.6 Crore (UPW)
Jemimah Rodrigues 2.2 Crore (DC)
Shafali Verma 2 Crore (DC)
Richa Ghosh 1.9 Crore (RCB)
Pooja Vastrakar 1.9 Crore (MI)
Harmanpreet Kaur 1.8 Crore (MI)*Babar Azam 1.2 Crore (PSL)#WPLAuction #WomensIPL
— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) February 13, 2023
#SmritiMandhana
Babar Azam Price in PSL – 2.30 CR
SMRITI MANDHANA – 3.4 CrAnd they Compare PSL with IPL 😂🤣#WPLAuction #WPL2023 @mandhana_smriti pic.twitter.com/EXBxSvfKs9
— Sunny Yadav (@SunnyYa67011052) February 13, 2023
18 players selected in the platinum category of the PSL 2023 including Babar Azam pocketed $170,000 USD, an amount is considerably lower to what Mandhana will walk away with in the WPL 2023. The talented young Indian cricketer who was once the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team has been one of the best players in the world. She is known for being an explosive batter who has consistently performed in the shortest format of the game.
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Smit is a sports writer at Gutshot Magazine. After completing his Bachelor’s in Mass Media, and a Master’s degree in Sports Management, this sports fanatic uses articles as a tool to express his opinions. Bring up cricket or football and you will find this usually quiet guy speak for hours! He also co-heads the official supporters club of Chelsea FC in Mumbai, wherein he hosts screenings, football meets and other such events.
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