WPL mini auction: All players sold in accelerated round, Australia’s Sophie Molineux fetched the highest

At the WPL mini auction held at Grand Hyatt Kochi today Australia captain and spinner Sophie Molineux fetched the biggest bid, being sold for Rs 1.1 crore to UP Warriorz (UPW). Coached by Abhishek Nayar, UPW outbid Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the bidding war for Molineux.

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz all retained their core players and went on to fill in the last gaps before the fifth season, which runs from January 14 to February 7, 2027. A total of 150 players had egistered for the auction, of whom 28 are overseas, including six from Associate teams.

Indian batter Kiran Navgire was the second-most expensive purchase of the auction, being sold to Jemimah Rodrigues-led Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 75 lakh after a bidding war with Mumbai Indians (MI). The two times champion for the 2027 season maintained a low profile buying six Indian figures for a combined bid of Rs 70 lakh.

Up next was Indian wicket keeper G.Kamalini and Jess Jonassen who were sold to GG and DC respectively for Rs 40 lakh.A total of 25 players have been sold in the WPL 2027 mini-auction. UP Warriorz was the most active team, filling all eight slots, including three overseas. It is worth noting, the team despite the heavy purchsee still saved Rs 1.15 crore.

Following the second accelerated phase of the auction, Chloe Tyron, Tejal Hasanbis Vrinda Dinesh all joined RCB while Asha Shobana was procured by UPW. Shweta Sehrawat and Akshita Bhagat were bought in by Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers included Nazma Khan in their team.