“[Shikha] came for the trials. She is an experienced player and we wanted her experience of having played in high-pressure tournaments,” Nayar told ESPNcricinfo after the auction in Delhi on Thursday. “Her numbers in the WPL are the best among Indian pace bowlers in the last three years, be it in the powerplay or death overs.
Leading their spin attack will be Deepti and Ecclestone, along with Asha Sobhana, Georgia Wareham and allrounder Chloe Tryon among the other options. While UPW splurged INR 3.2 crore on Deepti, Mumbai Indians spent INR 3 crore on Amelia Kerr, Asha fetched INR 1.1 crore and Georgia Wareham INR 1 crore (from RCB) – all spinners – it came as a surprise to many that Ecclestone got a top bid of just INR 85 lakh, despite being the No. 1 ODI bowler and No. 4 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings.
“I was very surprised, everyone was surprised,” Nayar said of Ecclestone’s price. “I thought she would go for something like 1.5 crore. But we got her for a great deal at just 85 lakh. But that’s how the auction works – sometimes you pay less, sometimes more. So I’ve very happy overall.”
Even before using the RTM for Ecclestone, UPW used that option for Deepti, who led them earlier this season in the absence of Alyssa Healy. While their decision to release Deepti before the auction might have been surprising, using the RTM for her was not.
“So the mindset was we are going to get her (Deepti), that is the advantage of having the RTM. If we didn’t have the RTM, I think things would be different but we were very confident with the RTM, we just wanted to try and use it in the auction.”
“Our attempt was to get those players who can play for India in the long run, are potential superstars, and who can become the face of this franchise.”
Abhishek Nayar on buying the injured Pratika Rawal
“Meg is a leader, we all know,” Nayar said. “Phoebe is also a kind of a leader, we think. She can add a lot of value to the team. She is a fearless cricketer and she can play 360 (degree cricket) or 180. So we were very excited to have someone like that potential and I feel really good to buy her with that money (INR 1.20 crore). But right now we can’t say that they both are going to open for us. If we reveal that here in this interview, teams will already be making strategies about it (laughs).”
Another opening batter UPW bought was India’s ODI opener Rawal, who was prolific in the recent World Cup-winning campaign at the top with Smriti Mandhana, but is yet to make her T20I and WPL debut. She picked up an injury while fielding in India’s last league game in the World Cup and missed the knockouts after that, and may not be fit in time to play the WPL too.
“When you buy a good player there’s no guarantee that she will be fit or not for the season,” Nayar said. “We know that she is not fit right now but we also know that if there’s a superstar rising through Indian cricket, it’s Pratika Rawal. Like I said earlier our attempt was to get those players who can play for India in the long run, are potential superstars, and who can become the face of this franchise. That was an important thing to do because that will be an advantage for the next retention cycle after two years.”
Daya Sagar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo Hindi
