"Namaskara Bengaluru" - Smriti Mandhana reacts as RCB sign her for ₹3.4 crore at WPL Auction 2023

Smriti Mandhana has sent a message to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans after the Bangalore-based franchise signed her at the WPL Auction 2023 on Monday. RCB went all out for the Indian T20I team's vice-captain and roped her in for an enormous sum of ₹3.4 crore at the auction.

Mandhana was the first player to be auctioned in Mumbai. Mumbai Indians (MI) opened the bidding with a bid of ₹50 lakh. Royal Challengers Bangalore entered into a bidding war with MI as the other three franchises watched them battle.

MI and RCB took the amount past ₹3 crore in a matter of a few minutes. The Royal Challengers Bangalore eventually signed her with a bid worth ₹3.4 crore. Taking to Twitter after earning a contract from RCB, Smriti Mandhana wrote:

"Namaskara Bengaluru."

Fans of the RCB franchise were delighted after the team secured Mandhana's services at the auction. The tweet from RCB's official handle informing fans about her signing has already received 20,000 likes on the micro-blogging platform.

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Smriti Mandhana will play with Ellyse Perry in WPL 2023

Australia v New Zealand - ICC Women's T20 World Cup South Africa 2023 (Image: Getty)

Royal Challengers Bangalore have dominated the proceedings at the WPL Auction 2023 so far. After signing Mandhana, they roped in Australia's elite all-rounder Ellyse Perry for ₹1.7 crore. The next two names to join the RCB squad were New Zealand's Sophie Devine and India's Renuka Thakur Singh.

The Bangalore-based franchise has acquired a total of four players so far. They need to sign a minimum of 11 more names to complete their squad. RCB have ₹4.9 crore remaining in their auction purse. It will be interesting to see which other players join the RCB franchise at the WPL Auction 2023.

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Did RCB make the right decision by spending big on Smriti Mandhana? Share your views in the comments box below.