BCCI to appoint a woman auctioneer to host the maiden edition of WPL auction: Reports

In a refreshing decision, BCCI is all set to welcome a woman auctioneer for the upcoming WPL auction that would be a historic move in the cricketing arcade of India. The arrival of a female auctioneer heralds a huge step for Indian women’s cricket.

As reported by Cricbuzz, going by the rules that were communicated to the WPL franchises, Malika Advani, a Mumbai based art collector consultant for Modern and Contemporary Indian art and partner in Art India Consultants firm, will be leading the show with the gavel in her hand.

India has a rich history of some renowned auctioneers leading the show with Hugh Edmeades, Richard Madley and Charu Sharma hosting the men’s IPL auction previously.

The BCCI has also clarified the fact that each team should have a minimum 15 players who are to be bought at the auction and the purchase should be at least of INR 9 crore. The maximum value of the purse that all the franchises have so far been given is of INR 12 crore and only six foreign players can be bought.

The BCCI communication states, “The franchisees are reminded of the WPL squad rules with respect to minimum (15) and maximum (18) squad size, minimum squad spend (INR 9 crore) and the maximum number of overseas players in the squad (6)."

Also shedding some light on the bidding process and the upward curve that it should be taking, BCCI noted:

- bids up to INR 1 crore: increments of INR 5 lakh

- bids from INR 1 crore to INR 2 crore: increments of INR 10 lakh

- bids from INR 2 crore to INR 3 crore: increments of INR 20 lakh

- bids from INR 3 crore: increments at the auctioneer's discretion, but not less than INR 20 lakh

The note further states, “Following the conclusion of each set, there may (at the Auctioneer's discretion) be a short break to allow franchises time to re-evaluate tactics. The length of each break will be announced by the Auctioneer at the conclusion of the relevant set. A warning bell will ring two minutes before the resumption of the Player Auction after each break. The Player Auction will re-start promptly after each break. It is anticipated that these short breaks will total a minimum of 10 minutes in every hour of the Player Auction proceedings.”

The auction is scheduled to be held at the Jasmine Hall, 1, JIO World Convention Centre on Monday at 2:30 PM IST.