Anya Shrubsole opens up on her role at RCB in the WPL 2026 Mega Auction

RCB’s new assistant coach, Anya Shrubsole, joined Mayanti Langer in the latest episode of RCB Bold Diaries where she spoke at length about what her feelings about the auction are.

She also offered a perspective on how it feels for the players who are at the other side of the spectrum, hoping to be roped in by the franchises.

Talking on her feelings around the auction, Anya said, “I've never been involved in an auction myself as a player. I've only just kind of watched them and obviously with The Hundred back in England, it's more of a draft than an auction. And I think both times I'd kind of been picked up ahead of the draft. So, I've never had that kind of feeling of sitting there waiting for someone to kind of pick you.”

Anya further added, “But I can obviously imagine what that feels like. You'll have some people who would be pretty confident that they're going to be picked. It's those that aren't quite sure. So, it's going to be an experience. So, I'm probably quite glad I'm on this side of the fence as opposed to being a player waiting for it.”

Anya also underlined the role that she will have in the auction, hoping to create a meaningful impact. She also opened up on the questions which set the precedents for a successful WPL auction while also underpinning the key prerequisites which RCB looks forward to when they go all in for a player.

Highlighting her role, Shrubsole said, “I think for me it's obviously been getting up to speed with these guys about the kind of team that they want, the players that they want and obviously I'm not too many years retired. So obviously from my point of view I know lots of the players they're talking about quite well can probably add some insight into whether they fit into our team or they fit into our environment.”

She underlined the key pointers that RCB look forward to before onboarding a player, stating, “I think it's a given that everyone's everyone who's in that auction is a brilliant cricketer. So then you're getting into the finer details of do they fit into the team? Do they play the way we want? Are they good people? Are they people who are really going to add value to the team off the field as well?”