"Marks another significant step in the journey" - BCCI secretary Jay Shah on first-ever WPL auction 

The auction for the inaugural edition of the much-anticipated Women's Premier League (WPL) was conducted in Mumbai on Monday, February 13.

Expressing his delight at the successful completion of the event, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah stated that the enthusiasm of players and teams was exhilarating during the auction.

Shah mentioned that this was a major step towards developing a self-sustaining paradigm for the cricket fraternity. He was also optimistic that all the participating teams would provide a significant platform for the women's cricketers to flourish.

Taking to his Twitter handle after the event, Shah wrote:

"The first-ever auction for #WPL took place successfully today. The energy and enthusiasm from the players and the teams were electrifying. This marks another significant step in the journey of the WPL that promises to empower the cricketing fraternity with its independent & self-sustaining model.

"With today's auction, the foundation of the teams have been built and they all will play with the unifying spirit to give our women cricketers a platform to shine."

The first-ever season of the WPL will begin on March 4 and conclude on March 26. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and UP Warriorz will compete for the trophy in the inaugural edition.

Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai will host all matches.

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A total of 87 players were sold at the WPL auction

The inaugural auction saw a total of 449 players go under the hammer. Out of them, 87 women's cricketers found buyers with the five franchises spending a sum total of ₹59.50 crore at the event.

Out of the 87 sold players, 57 were Indian while the rest 30 were overseas cricketers.

Team India's star batter Smriti Mandhana emerged as the most expensive player at the auction. She was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ₹3.40 crore.

All-rounders Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner were the joint second-costliest players as they were signed for ₹3.20 crore by Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Giants (GG), respectively.