New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Women’s Premier League (WPL) chairman Jayesh George said the recently-concluded auction, which drew about 150 players competing for just 27 slots, showed how far women’s cricket has come, adding that the league now attracts talent from associate nations as well.
“I was excited to be a part of this because being the chairperson of this WPL and having it in my hometown adds value, right? The auction went on very well, and in my opening speech also, I said that we have only 27 players to be auctioned and 150 players in that lot.
“So it adds value to women’s cricket. I think nowadays more and more women players are coming into the field, so that’s very exciting,” George said in a video posted by the WPL on its social media accounts on Friday.
He pointed to the number of teenagers like Uma Kashvi and Samaira Raghav in the auction list getting picked by teams like Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants respectively. “I think the women players are still growing and we could see from the list also. There are so many 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, 17-year-old kids, one or two had been picked up from Mumbai Indians and it adds value playing with or maybe being a part of a team which has so many great players in their side.”
George said the presence of India’s biggest names in the league, including Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, would draw more girls to the sport. “Like they have Harman and Smriti all there, that adds value, and a lot of youngsters watching this will be prompted to play cricket.
“I think we have some older players who got into the auction, I think we have Asha Sobhana; she’s from my state, and UP Warriors has taken her place, but it adds value,” he added.
George further said the number of players who went unsold reflected the depth of the pool rather than any shortfall. “Around 150 players were there and so many are left out, so that shows the strength of the tournament.
“We could see players from Scotland have been picked up. Then some Sri Lankans, and so many, I think even from the UAE, somebody had been in the list; it adds value that, global-wise, the Women’s Premier League is growing.”
The fifth season of the WPL will happen from January 14 to February 7, 2027, with the venues yet to be known. George also credited India’s ODI World Cup triumph and the aggressive batting of players like Shafali Verma for bringing women’s cricket closer to the men’s game in public appeal.
“I think after our World Cup victory and the way the women cricketers are playing, just like men’s cricket, the way they hit sixes like Shafali and all those, it adds value just like men’s cricket.
“When we are talking about men’s cricket, people used to watch men’s cricket, now we can see last year, the finals and the matches we played in Mumbai, cricketers were sold out and a lot of people were in the queue. So that shows the strength of women’s cricket,” he concluded.
–IANS
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