G Kamalini

G Kamalini went for INR 1.6 crore (approximately US$ 190,500) at the WPL 2025 auction, making her one of the highest-paid cricketers of her age.

G Kamalini’s name came under the gavel immediately after Simran Sheikh had gone for INR 1.9 crore an Prema Rawat for INR 1.2 crore. The uncapped duo, along with the venerable Deandra Dottin, were three of the four who went for over INR 1 crore.

Kamalini was the fourth. The bidding began at a base price of INR 10 lakh, but the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians bid frantically to raise the bar to 16 times her base price. Mumbai, who won the WPL in in 2023 and finished third in 2024, eventually got her for the 2025 edition.

Kamalini turned 16 this July, which makes her one of the highest-paid teenage cricketers in the world world. She bats left-handed, bowls leg-breaks, and keeps wicket for Tamil Nadu (yes, all of these).

Originally an aspiring skater, Kamalini took to cricket during the lockdown of 2020. Her father, an enthusiastic cricketer, enrolled her to a local cricket academy practice facilities at their residence, where he would bowl at his daughter for a two hours a day. He later took her to Chennai. There, she had access to turf pitches at the CSK-run Super Kings Academy.

She was 15 when she broke through to the Tamil Nadu U19s side, smashing 89 in her second game, against Vidarbha, and followed this with a run of four consecutive innings and eventually 102 against Andhra. She finished with 393 runs (the second-most), topping the averages chart with 98.25, while striking at 84 – while also picking up six wickets.

Later, she played for the Tamil Nadu senior team and even the West Zone senior team – all before turning 16. In December 2024, India hosted a triangular U-19 tournament featuring two home teams and a South African side. Having mostly played as a batting all-rounder until then, Kamalini kept wicket for India B. She finished the tournament with the most runs (270), the best average (90), with a 100-run cut-off, the third-best strike rate (125), and the joint-most dismissals (4).

That made her an obvious pick for the Indian side at the ongoing U19 T20 Asia Cup in Malaysia. There was little challenge in the tournament opener after Pakistan made only 67-7. After keeping wicket, Kamalini hit 44 not out in 29 balls with some dazzling strokes to seal an easy chase – crucially, on the morning of the auction. That virtually guaranteed a big price.

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