Last Updated: February 13, 2023, 17:12 IST
Youngster Richa Ghosh on Monday bagged a lucrative deal worth Rs 1.90 crore from the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 players’ auctions in Mumbai. The wicketkeeper-batter has been in great nick lately which helped him attract several bids in the inaugural WPL Auction.
Richa was a part of the Shafali Verma-led Indian team that won the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup 2023 in South Africa. The 19-year-old has earned the rapport of a dependable middle-order batter who possesses the skills of amplifying the innings whenever required.
WPL 2023 Player Auction Live Updates
After Richa’s name came to the table, the likes of Delhi Capitals and RCB indulged in an enormous bidding war and then UP Warriorz made a sudden entry, making it more fierce. But DC backed out and so did UP, giving RCB an opportunity to have the 19-year-old onboard.
Just a day prior to the WPL 2023 auctions, India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 7 wickets to win their campaign opener at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. While Jemimah Rodrigues stole the show with an unbeaten 53, Richa played a terrific cameo of 31 not-out, in 20 balls, with the help of 5 boundaries.
So far, the Bengal wicketkeeper-batter has played just 31 matches and has scored 458 runs at a strike rate of 135.50, with the best score of 44 not-out. Behind the stumps, she has affected 16 stumpings and grabbed 12 catches as well.
Richa will join the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Singh Thakur at the RCB camp in the WPL 2023.
Earlier, Mandhana stole the thunder in the inaugural Women’s Premier League auctions as Royal Challengers Bangalore pipped Mumbai Indians in a bidding war to buy the India vice-captain for Rs 3.40 crore (USD 410,000).
ALSO READ | WPL 2023: Smriti Mandhana Becomes 1st Player to be Sold at Players’ Auction, Joins RCB for Rs 3.40 Crore
The second costliest Indian player so far is all-rounder Deepti Sharma who was bought by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 crore. However, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came much cheaper for Mumbai Indians at nearly half the price of Mandhana at Rs 1.80 crore.
Australia’s off-spin all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner was being contested by MI and Warriorz, but Gujarat Giants got her in for INR 3.2 crore. RCB and DC were in contention to get premier Australia pace all-rounder Ellyse Perry, with the former taking her in for INR 1.7 crore.
(With Agency Inputs)
Get the latest Cricket News here