On Monday, women’s cricket received long-awaited recognition with the highly anticipated player’s auction held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. With the success of the Indian Premier League, there has been growing demand for a women’s cricket league, and the BCCI took the right step in making this a reality.
The league appears to have begun to motivate young girls to pursue the sport. A video of a 14-year-old girl, Moomal Meher, playing remarkable cricket shots at her school ground in Barmer, Rajasthan, went viral on the internet on Tuesday. The footage showcases Moomal emulating the playing style of her idol, Suryakumar Yadav.
The Master Blaster, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, lauded the young talent in the viral video with a tweet. He expressed his delight, saying, “The auction was just yesterday, and the match has already begun today? Fantastic! Really enjoyed your batting.”
It is worth mentioning that on Monday, five franchises, namely Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz, and Gujarat Giants, participated in a fierce bidding war to build their squad for the first season of the WPL.
Smriti Mandhana, a prolific Indian batter, attracted the highest bid during the WPL auction, with Royal Challengers Bangalore securing her services for INR 3.4 crores. Other notable expensive bids included Harmanpreet Kaur (Rs. 1.8 crores), Ashleigh Gardner (Rs. 3.2 crores), Ellyse Perry (Rs. 1.7 crores), and Sophie Ecclestone (Rs. 1.8 crores).