From Smriti Mandhana to Meg Lanning: Top five batters at the WPL Auction

In less than 4 days, the world will be witnessing a historic event where the WPL franchises that were recently imparted flesh and bone will be coming to the Jio Convention Centre to be a part of the maiden edition of the WPL auction. 

Well, the ring of auction has always served the IPL fans handsomely over the years and with this new chapter of women’s cricket coming to the fore, the mercury is already through the roofs and the speculations are now kissing the skies. Here are the top five batters that could witness the auction room fighting tooth and nail for them.

1.    Smriti Mandhana

Needless to say, but Smriti Mandhana has bossed the art of cricket emphatically and her reign over the cricketing circuit that saw her spooking the bowlers will make her the best in business at the moment to be going under the hammer. She has been a part of 112 T20Is where she has hammered 2651 runs at an average of 27.32 and a stunning strike rate of 123.13. She has also managed to stitch together a staggering 20 T20I  half-centuries in her span in the international arcade.

2.    Suzie Bates

The 35-year-old Kiwi international has penned quite an impressive legacy over the years and continues to be the reason for bowlers’ woes across the international circuit. She has been a part of 139 T20Is from which she managed to gather 3683 runs. She has also struck them at an impressive rate of 109.32 while registering 23 half-centuries accompanied by a blistering ton.

3.    Meg Lanning

Whenever we talk about batters in the international circuit, Meg Lanning has always been a reckoning force, razing through the bowlers at will. She has a wild variety of strokes in her arsenal and her momentous numbers of 3256 T20I runs from 126 contests that she has been a part of, makes her an absolute favourite for whom any team will be willing to splurge when the gavel comes knocking.

4.    Shafali Verma

Known for her striking prowess, Shafali Verma is a relentless hard-hitter of the cherry and recently proved her flair in one of the grandest stages of all as India lifted the maiden edition of the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup under her leadership. She has been a part of 51 T20Is from which she has gathered 1231 runs at a stunning average of 24.62. However, the more impressive part about her is her blinder of a strike rate of 134.53 that would rivet some serious attention in the auction room.

5.    Laura Wolvaardt

One of the leading batting artists of the women’s division in the shortest format of the game, the fearless Proteas batter, Laura Wolvaardt can make mountains move at the tip of her fingers. She has been a part of 47 T20Is from which she has already piled up 849 runs at an average of 28.30 and a fascinating strike rate of 109.83, making her one of the fiercest monikers to grace the sport.