The auction will see a total of 90 slots being filled, with players picked from a shortlisted set of 448 players, with each squad consisting of a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players. Here is a list of all the players that have been sold so far.

The event will be held at the Jio Centre in Mumbai, and the process will begin at 2.30pm IST.

WPL auction 2023: Live updates

Right. Looks like that will be that from tonight. We have had a superb auction, and if this is a sign of things to come – the WPL is going to be pretty special. All teams seem to stack up well against each other on paper, with several world-class stars distributed almost evenly. The franchises also seemed to have a clear idea of exactly what they wanted at the auction and guessing by their reactions, they were happy with what they got in the end. The inaugural edition of the WPL is slated to start on March 4, and will be held entirely in Mumbai. And this auction has certainly piqued the interest of many across the country, and indeed across the globe. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of everyone at Wisden. Goodbye, goodnight and take care!

We are back. One final time. Megan Schutt gets a bid from Bangalore, and sold for INR 40 lakhs. Shabnam Shakil sold to Ahmedabad for INR 10 lakhs. Sonam Yadav bought by Mumbai for INR 10 lakhs. Jintimani Kalita sold to Mumbai for INR 10 lakhs. Neelam Bisht also goes to Mumbai for INR 10 lakhs. Sahana Pawar bought by Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs.

Mumbai have only bought 14 players, and it looks like we will have a third and final round of the accelerated auction.

Komal Zanzad gets a couple of bids – from Mumbai and Bangalore. Mumbai opt out, though, and Komal is sold to Bangalore for INR 25 lakhs. Parunika Sisodia sold to Ahmedabad for INR 10 lakhs. Priyanka Bala sold to Mumbai for INR 20 lakhs.

Shipra Giri remains UNSOLD, as does Tess Flintoff. Ashwani Kumari gets a couple of bids – from Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Ahmedabad hold the bid at INR 35 lakhs, and bag Ashwani Kumari. Humairaa Kaazi sold to Mumbai for INR 10 lakhs. Poonam Khemnar bought by Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs. Neelam Bisht remains UNSOLD, as does Neetu Singh. Nishu Choudhary and Parushi Prabhakar remain UNSOLD as well.

Can Arundhati Reddy get a bid? Yes, she can. Delhi bid INR 30 lakhs, and sold for that price! Chloe Tryon up next, and sold to Mumbai for INR 30 lakhs! Dane van Niekerk sold to Bangalore for INR 30 lakhs! Bangalore also acquire Preeti Bose for INR 30 lakhs. Ishwari Savkar remains UNSOLD. Simran Shaikh sold to Lucknow for INR 10 lakhs. Aparna Mondal gets a bid from Delhi – sold for INR 10 lakhs. 

Hurley Gala comes back, and gets a bid from Ahmedabad – sold for INR 10 lakhs. No luck for Shabnam Shakil and Swagatika Rath, though. Both remain UNSOLD. Delhi bid INR 30 lakhs for Sneha Deepthi as well, and snap her up for base price!

Delhi come in for Taniyaa Bhatia. Sold for her base price of INR 30 lakhs to Delhi. Sushma Verma gets a bid too – from Ahmedabad, and they are now joined by Delhi. The bid is with Ahmedabad, and sold for INR 60 lakhs! Still no bids for Alana King. UNSOLD. Delhi show interest in Poonam Yadav, and bag her for her base price of INR 30 lakhs. Delhi’s shopping spree continues – they bid INR 50 lakhs for Jess Jonassen. Sold to Delhi! 

Right. The final accelerated round of the auction is here. Let’s get going. Hayley Matthews up first, and Mumbai open the bidding. Sold to Mumbai for INR 40 lakhs! Any takers for Suzie Bates this time? Does not look like it, remains UNSOLD. Heather Knight gets a bid from Bangalore, and sold to them for INR 40 lakhs!

Just to sum things up. Here is a list of the purse remaining for each side, and the number of players they have bought so far.

Ahmedabad: INR 1.3 crore (13 players bought)

Bangalore: INR 1.95 crore (11 players bought)

Delhi: INR 2.15 crore (12 players bought)

Mumbai: INR 1.3 crore (10 players bought)

Lucknow: INR 0.1 crore (15 players bought)

That is that for the first accelerated auction session. Each teams, barring Lucknow, have to submit a list of seven players who they want to see in the auction. We will be back in about fifteen minutes for the second accelerated round.

No bids for Nishu Choudhary and Parunika Sisodia. UNSOLD. Mumbai open the bid for Saika Ishaque, and that is the winning bid as well. Sold for INR 10 lakhs. Asha Shobana sold to Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs. No interest in the room for Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce and Sarah Bryce, though.

Kanika Ahuja is generating a bit of interest – Bangalore and Mumbai bid at the start but Mumbai soon back out. Sold to Bangalore for INR 35 lakhs. Bangalore and Ahmedabad are very interested in Tanuja Kanwer. Bangalore are out at INR 50 lakhs, and sold at that price to Ahmedabad! 

No bids for Shipra Giri, and she goes UNSOLD, as does Humairaa Kaazi, Sajana S and Tarannum Pathan. No interest for Ashwani Kumari either. Bangalore and Delhi are interested in Minnu Mani, and Delhi buy her for INR 30 lakhs. Shreyanka Patil sold to Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs.

Laura Harris up next. Bangalore and Delhi are competing again. But Bangalore opt out at INR 45 lakhs. Sold to Delhi for INR 45 lakhs! Dhara Gujjar sold to Mumbai for INR 10 lakhs! No bids for Arushi Goel, Divya Gnanananda and Ishwari Savkar – UNSOLD. Jasia Akhter gets a bid from Delhi and sold for INR 20 lakhs! Disha Kasat sold to Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs. Laxmi Yadav sold to Lucknow for INR 10 lakhs! Indrani Roy bought by Bangalore for INR 10 lakhs.

Arundhati Reddy. Base price is INR 30 lakhs but no team is interested. UNSOLD. Not much luck for Meghna Singh either. UNSOLD. Any bids for Lauren Bell? Yes, Lucknow open the bid at INR 30 lakhs, and snap up Lauren Bell! Monica Patel sold for her base price of INR 30 lakhs to Ahmedabad. Gouher Sultana, Ekta Bisht, Preeti Bose and Mahika Gaur go UNSOLD. USA’s Tara Norris gets a bid from Delhi, and sold for INR 10 lakhs.

Amanjot Kaur up next. Mumbai bid initially and Delhi, after some deliberation, join the race. Sold to Mumbai for INR 50 lakhs! Dayalan Hemalatha gets an opening bid from Ahmedabad, and that is the closing bid too. Sold for INR 30 lakhs! No takers for Swagatika Rath, though. Goes UNSOLD. 

Mansi Joshi, too, gets a bid – sold to Ahmedabad for INR 30 lakhs. Any takers for Anuja Patil or Simran Bahadur? Not yet, both go UNSOLD! Devika Vaidya generates some interest in the room – Delhi and Lucknow raise their paddles. The bid is with Delhi at INR 1.1 crore but they are out at INR 1.4 crore. Sold to Lucknow for INR 1.4 crore! 

Katherine Brunt-Sciver up next, but she goes UNSOLD. Alice Capsey, however, does pique the interest of Delhi and Mumbai. Bid up to INR 75 lakhs, and is with Delhi. Sold to Delhi for that price! Isabelle Wong gets an opening bid from Mumbai, and that is the closing bid too. Sold for INR 30 lakhs!

Georgia Wareham goes under the hammer, and it looks like both Bangalore and Ahmedabad want to secure her signature. Bangalore are out, and Wareham has been sold to Ahmedabad for INR 75 lakhs!

Heather Graham up next, and Mumbai are very interested. But they are the only ones interested, and they snap up Heather Graham for INR 30 lakhs! Grace Harris gets a couple of bids from Bangalore and Lucknow. Delhi enter the race, and Bangalore are out now. It is between Delhi and Lucknow. Sold to Lucknow for INR 75 lakhs! 

Sabbineni Meghana. Ahmedabad raise the paddle, and she is sold at her base price of INR 30 lakhs to Ahmedabad! Bharti Fulmali goes UNSOLD. Erin Burns gets a bid from Bangalore, and is sold for her base price – INR 30 lakhs. No bids for Kim Garth, though. UNSOLD! 

Sneha Deepthi is the first player out of the bag this session but she goes UNSOLD. No takers for Priya Punia either. Kiran Navgire up next, and she gets a bid from Lucknow. Sold to Lucknow for INR 30 lakhs! 

This took a little longer than we thought but we are back now, ready to get into the thick of the auction again. Plenty of spots to fill for the franchises, and they will have to be at the top of their game in this accelerated process.

Looks like we will have a 45-minute break now, post which the accelerated auction will begin. Each team will have to submit 15 names that they want to see in the auction, and the auction will then proceed accordingly. Do join us in about half an hour as we bring to you all the updates from this historic WPL auction.

Najla CMC is the first player up for grabs from the next set. No bids, though, and she goes UNSOLD.  Can Sonam Yadav fare any better? Does not look like it. UNSOLD! Any interest in the room for Shabnam Shakil? Nothing yet. UNSOLD! Falak Naz, Hurley Gala, Soniya Mendhiya, Shorna Akter, Shikha Shalot go UNSOLD too. S Yashasri, however, generates interest from Lucknow. Sold to Lucknow for INR 10 lakhs! 

Shweta Sehrawat up next, and she gets a couple of bids – from Delhi and Lucknow. Sold to Lucknow for INR 40 lakhs! 

Any interest in the room for Grace Scrivens? Nothing yet, and she remains UNSOLD! Archana Devi up next. Base price is INR 10 lakhs. No bids, however, and she goes UNSOLD. A similar fate awaits G Trisha and Mannat Kashyap, who are both UNSOLD. Titas Sadhu, though, generates interest from Delhi and Lucknow. Sold to Delhi for INR 25 lakhs!

Set 9 contains emerging players. Hrishita Basu is the first player out of the bag. No bids for her, though. UNSOLD! No takers for Soumya Tiwari either. UNSOLD! Parshavi Chopra gets an opening bid from Lucknow. Sold for INR 10 lakhs! 

Right then. How many bids will Marizanne Kapp get? Lucknow open the bid, and Delhi want a bit of the action. Lucknow, rather surprisingly, opt out at INR 45 lakhs, only to be replaced by Bangalore at the table. Bangalore are out at INR 75 lakhs but Ahmedabad now decide to make a late dash. Delhi with the bid at INR 1.5 crore. Sold to Delhi for INR 1.5 crore!

Sneh Rana. And she immediately fetches a bid from Mumbai. Ahmedabad come in too. Ahmedabad hold the bid at INR 75 lakhs, and sold!

Can Bangladesh’s Salma Khatun get a bid? No, she cannot. UNSOLD! No luck for Jess Jonassen either. UNSOLD! Any interest for Shikha Pandey? Yes, there is. Delhi open the bidding at INR 40 lakhs, and now Ahmedabad enter the fray. Bid is with Delhi at INR 60 lakhs, and sold for that price! 

A hush around the auction room as the five franchises prepare for another gruelling round of action. Leigh Kasperek is out of the bag first but she generates no interest. UNSOLD! Radha Yadav to go under the hammer now. And she gets a bid from Delhi for INR 40 lakhs. No other suitors, and sold to Delhi for INR 40 lakhs! Nadine de Klerk up next but she goes UNSOLD. 

Poonam Yadav. She has a base price of INR 30 lakhs. But she gets no bids. UNSOLD! No luck for Inoka Ranaweera either. UNSOLD! Alana King up for grabs at a base price of INR 40 lakhs, and she, rather remarkably, goes UNSOLD! No takers for Afy Fletcher either. Goes UNSOLD! Fran Jonas is the last player in the set, and she, like most others in this set, does not find any bids. UNSOLD! 

Some spinners up for grabs now. Any takers for Sarah Glenn? No interest again, and she goes UNSOLD! Rajeshwari Gayakwad up next, and she piques the interest of Lucknow. Sold to Lucknow for her base price of INR 40 lakhs! Nonkululeko Mlaba out of the bag but she remains UNSOLD! 

Megan Schutt. UNSOLD! Jahanara Alam up next. But she gets no bids, goes UNSOLD! Can Lea Tahuhu break this streak of players going unsold? No, she cannot. UNSOLD! Ayabonga Khaka, and she goes UNSOLD too! Shakera Selman is the last player in this set, and become the latest player in this set to go UNSOLD!

Fast bowlers up now. Shamilia Connell to start off proceedings in this set. But gets no bids. UNSOLD! No interest for Freya Davies as well. UNSOLD! Left-arm seamer Anjali Sarvani is next out of the bag. Ahmedabad open the bidding and are quickly joined by Lucknow. Delhi come into the equation too. Bid is with Lucknow at INR 55 lakhs, and sold to Lucknow for that price!

Sushma Verma up next. But she gets no bids. UNSOLD! Bernadine Bezuidenhout is the next player. Gets no bids either. UNSOLD! Can England wicket-keeper Amy Jones get a bid? No, she cannot. UNSOLD! 

Alyssa Healy. This could get very interesting. Lucknow raise the paddle, and Mumbai, after a lot of thought, enter the fray. But Mumbai are out at INR 70 lakhs, and Healy has been sold to Lucknow for INR 70 lakhs!

Okay, Richa Ghosh to go under the hammer now. Bangalore and Delhi are already engaging in a battle to secure her signature. The bid is now with Delhi at INR 1.6 crore. Plenty of deliberation happening in both camps, and Lucknow want to be a part of this as well. The bid is currently with Bangalore at INR 1.9 crore. Sold to RCB for INR 1.9 crore! 

Yastika Bhatia gets a couple of bids, though. The bid is with Mumbai at INR 75 lakhs, and they are currently battling Ahmedabad.  Lucknow are also interested it seems, and have now entered the race. But Mumbai outlast every other bidder. Sold to Mumbai for INR 1.5 crore! 

The next set comprises wicket-keepers, and Taniyaa Bhatia is out of the bag first. UNSOLD! No bids for Anushka Sanjeewani either.

Okay, Deandra Dottin to go under the hammer now. Surely she will find a bid? Yes, she does. Delhi and Gujarat at it. But Delhi are out at INR 60 lakhs. Sold to Ahmedabad for INR 60 lakhs! 

Pooja Vastrakar up next. Delhi come in, as do Mumbai. Mumbai hold the bid at INR 1.1 crore for now, and Delhi are out at this price. But Mumbai now have to battle Lucknow. Bid is up to INR 1.8 crore and is with Lucknow. Mumbai raise it to INR 1.9 crore and Lucknow, after much deliberation, are out. Sold to Mumbai for INR 1.9 crore! 

Harleen Deol. Ahmedabad open the bid at INR 40 lakhs, and that is the closing bid too! Sold to Ahmedabad! 

Sune Luus. Any takers? No interest in the room, and she goes UNSOLD! Can Danni Wyatt fetch any bids? No, she cannot. UNSOLD! Chamari Athapaththu up next but she too goes UNSOLD!

Right. We are back, and this set comprises all-rounders. Heather Knight is the first player to be auctioned in this set. But she gets no bids at all. UNSOLD! Annabel Sutherland up next, and Lucknow bid immediately. Delhi come in at INR 35 lakhs. The bidding goes up to INR 55 lakhs, and Lucknow are not out. But Ahmedabad are in. The bid is with them at INR 70 lakhs now, and sold at that price to Ahmedabad! 

England batter Tammy Beaumont up next. Is there any interest in the room? Nothing so far. UNSOLD! She was the last player in the set, and looks like we will have a 10-minute break now.

Okay, Shafali Verma to go under the hammer now. Delhi and Bangalore are fighting tooth and nail already. But Mumbai enter now. The bid is currently with Mumbai at INR 1.9 crore. Delhi raise it to INR 2 crore, and Mumbai back out. Sold to Delhi for INR 2 crore! 

Tazmin Brits up next. Gets no bids at this point of time, though, and goes UNSOLD! Will Brits’ compatriot Laura Wolvaardt get any bids? No luck for her either. UNSOLD!

Okay, can we find any bids for Meg Lanning? Mumbai raise the paddle, possibly even before the auctioneer has announced her name. Delhi will not let go off Lanning easily, though. And, Delhi get Lanning – sold to Delhi for INR 1.1 crore! 

Any bids coming in for Suzie Bates? No interest in the room at her base price of INR 30 lakhs, and she goes UNSOLD! 

Right. It is time for Jemimah Rodrigues. Lucknow get things underway but are soon joined by Delhi. Delhi hold the bid at INR 1.5 crore, but are now being rivalled by Mumbai. Mumbai are out at INR 2.2 crore, and sold to Delhi for that price!

Sophia Dunkley is the first player out of the bag in the next set. Any takers? Ahmedabad open the bidding at INR 30 lakhs. Delhi try their luck for a bit before being priced out at INR 60 lakhs. Sold to Ahmedabad for INR 60 lakhs! 

Amelia Kerr is the last player to be auctioned in this set. Mumbai come in, as do Bangalore. Mumbai hold the bid at INR 1 crore, and that is the winning bid too! Sold to Mumbai! 

Shabnim Ismail. Any bids for the tearaway South African quick? Delhi and Lucknow are rivalling each other. Lucknow raise it to INR 1 crore, and that has blown Delhi out of the water. Sold to Lucknow for INR 1 crore! 

Beth Mooney up next. Bangalore and Mumbai are at it again. The bid is currently with Ahmedabad at INR 2 crore, and Mumbai are now out of the race. Sold to Ahmedabad for INR 2 crore! 

Right. How many bids for Tahlia McGrath? Bangalore raise the paddle. Ahmedabad don’t want to let go of McGrath, though, and neither does Delhi. Bid is with Delhi at INR 1 crore now. Lucknow arrive late, and bag McGrath for INR 1.4 crore! 

Natalie Sciver-Brunt up for grabs now. Delhi and Mumbai are very interested. Lucknow want a piece of the action as well. The bid is currently with Mumbai at INR 2.8 crore. Mumbai further raise it to INR 3.2 crore, and sold to Mumbai for that price! 

Any bids for Renuka Singh Thakur? Yes, Delhi open the bidding. Bangalore enter the fray as well. Bid is with Bangalore at INR 1.5 crore. Sold to Bangalore for INR 1.5 crore! 

We are back with the second set of the day. What’s in store? Let us find out! Deepti Sharma is the first player in this set. Delhi open the bidding immediately. Ahmedabad and Mumbai are also very interested. This looks like a three-way battle. Delhi raise it to INR 1.1 crore. Mumbai take it up to INR 2 crore, and Delhi are out now. But hang on….Lucknow come in with an INR 2.2 crore bid, and Mumbai respond with an INR 2.4 crore bid. Lucknow raise it to INR 2.6 crore, and that is the closing bid too. Sold to Lucknow! 

Sophie Ecclestone is the first English player to go under the hammer today. Ahmedabad open the bidding and are soon joined by Delhi. Ahmedabad bail out but Lucknow are now rivalling Delhi for Ecclestone. Delhi are out at INR 1.8 crore, and sold to Lucknow for INR 1.8 crore! That also brings us to the end of the first set, and we will reconvene after a short break.

Ellyse Perry up for grabs now. Delhi open the bidding at INR 50 lakhs. Bangalore want a piece of the action too. The bid is now with Bangalore at INR 1.7 crore. Sold to Bangalore for that price!

Ashleigh Gardner is the next player out of the bag. Lucknow and Mumbai are engaging in a bidding war. The bid is now with Lucknow at INR 2.2 crore. Ahmedabad come in now, bidding INR 2.8 crore. The bid has gone up to INR 3.2 crore, and that is the closing bid too. Sold to Ahmedabad for INR 3.2 crore! 

Hayley Matthews up next. Base price is INR 40 lakhs. And she goes UNSOLD. Wow! 

Right. Do we have any takers for Sophie Devine? Bangalore open the bidding, and sold to Bangalore for INR 50 lakhs!

Harmanpreet Kaur is next out of the bag. Bangalore open the bidding at INR 50 lakhs, and are soon rivalled by Delhi. Delhi raise it to INR 1.1 crore, and now Mumbai enter the equation. The bid is at INR 1.5 with Delhi, as we speak. Okay, this is getting interesting now. Lucknow made a bid but have now been priced out by Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur sold to Mumbai for INR 1.8 crore! 

Smriti Mandhana is the first-ever player to be auctioned in the WPL. Mumbai open the bidding at INR 50 lakhs straightaway. Bangalore enter the race too, and they hold the bid at INR 1.1 crore. Both teams are not budging; current bid with Bangalore at INR 3.4 crore. Sold to Bangalore for INR 3.4 crore!

The Women’s Premier League logo is now being revealed to a rapturous applause from those seated in the auction room. There is anticipation but you could also cut the tension with a knife. Not long before the first player goes under the hammer now.

Right. We are just minutes away from the start of this historic auction. Who will fetch the biggest bids today? There are a fair few world-beaters franchises can choose from. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, you would assume, would be at the top of everyone’s wish-lists. Overseas stars such as Ash Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Marizanne Kapp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Devine, Tahlia McGrath could also be in high demand. Don’t rule out huge bids for Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma either.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the inaugural WPL auction. Lots to look forward to, of course, with so many world-class players up for grabs. The excitement, understandably, is palpable and we can’t wait to get going. A little more than an hour remains before the auction starts proper and for the entirety of this auction, I (Shashwat Kumar) will be your eyes and ears. Stay tuned, there is plenty of action coming your way.

The first-ever WPL auction is a massive occasion for everyone involved. Wondering where you can watch it? Well, we have you covered. Here is where you can watch the WPL auction live.

Full list of players registered for the auction can be found here. 

Each team can have a maximum of four overseas players in their team, but that changes for an Associate player, who can be picked as an additional overseas slot. As a breakdown, among the players – 269 are from India, while 179 are overseas players (19 from Associate teams). The matches will be held exclusively in Mumbai from March 4 to 26 – at the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium. The five teams that will be taking part are based in the following cities: Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai and Delhi.

Updates will be added here as and when the auction begins.