5 great IPL players who will be paid less than Smriti Mandhana in WPL

One of the biggest talking points from the WPL 2023 auction compared to that of the IPL was the drastic difference in the size of the purse. While franchises had INR 95 crore to make their squads for IPL 2023, the WPL franchises got just INR 12 crore.

Yet, Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana went for a whopping INR 3.4 crore to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The amount is huge, given the fact that it was more than 25 percent of the purse allotted to RCB for picking a minimum of 15 players.

There have been some fantastic players in the IPL over the years, but despite the big purse available to their teams, some will play the 2023 edition of the tournament at an even lesser salary than that of Mandhana. On that note, let's take a look at three such players:

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#5 Ishant Sharma - INR 50L

Ishant Sharma was one of the unsung heroes of the Indian Test team's dominance away from home under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Apart from being a former spearhead of the Indian pace attack, Ishant has also played more than a hundred IPL games, picking up 84 wickets.

After missing out last season, the veteran will be playing for the Delhi Capitals (DC) as he was snapped up in the IPL 2023 season for INR 50 Lakh. He will also be a great mentor to some of the young pacers coming through the ranks at the Capitals.

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#4 Shakib Al Hasan - INR 1.5 cr

Arguably one of the best all-rounders the game has seen in the modern era, Shakib Al Hasan was a crucial part of the Kolkata Knight Riders' title triumphs in the 2012 and 2014 editions of the IPL.

Over the years, his price tag did take a bit of a hit, but has been picked up by the same franchise for INR 1.5 crore. With the team having missed out on some experienced players, the Bangladesh all-rounder could be more than handy in adding steel to that middle order alongside captain Shreyas Iyer.

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#3 Ajinkya Rahane - INR 50 L

Although Ajinkya Rahane went on to captain India in Tests and become a mainstay in their red-ball setup for almost a decade, he was a prolific run-scorer in the IPL at his peak.

It was really the 2012 season for the Rajasthan Royals where Rahane had just broken through the ranks, scoring a staggering 560 runs and also began to play for India across formats. He had a disappointing few seasons with DC and then again with KKR last year, but would be willing to make amends in the IPL 2023 season.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) signed the veteran batter for just INR 50 lakh and will hope that he brings bags of experience and calmness to their line-up.

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#2 Manish Pandey - INR 2.4 cr

Manish Pandey's tapering form over the past couple of seasons hasn't done justice to the fact that he has been a prolific batter in the league over the years. The first Indian to score an IPL hundred, Pandey really made the difference at No.3 for KKR, playing a huge role in their two titles.

Pandey's time with Sunrisers Hyderabad wasn't the greatest as he wasn't able to achieve the heights that he did with KKR. He also failed to make an impact in his only season with the Lucknow Super Giant (LSG) last season.

However, DC has shelled out INR 2.4 crore for the Karnataka veteran and will hope that he gives their middle order some much-needed experience, especially in the absence of Rishabh Pant.

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#1 Kane Williamson - INR 2 cr

Arguably the biggest name on this list, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was picked up just INR 2 crore in the IPL 2023 auction by defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). The former SRH skipper had a horrendous season with the bat last year, and many felt that he may go unsold in the auction.

However, the GT management have put their faith in the veteran batter and will hope that he brings back the Williamson of 2018 who almost single-handedly took his team to the final. It will be interesting to see how Hardik Pandya and the management fit him into their playing XI.