Watch: Smriti Mandhana's reaction to being sold for 3.4 crores to RCB at the WPL Auction
Watch Smriti Mandhana reacting to her WPL auction bid by Royal Challengers Bangalore from the Indian dressing room
Smriti Mandhana and the rest of the senior Indian team were absolutely overjoyed for the experienced opening better as she became the highest bid player at the auction for the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL).
Mandhana was seen celebrating her big pay-cheque day with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side after finding a whopping bid of 3.4 crores from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
RCB didn't feel wary of going wholeheartedly after the big-name cricketer even as the overall purse allowed at the bidding war was only INR 12 crores, giving her more than one-fourth of the total money.
If anyone deserves it, though, it's Smriti Mandhana who is one of the leading women's international cricketers in the world with an astonishing body of work already.
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Mandhana celebrates big pay-cheque day at WPL auction
In an amusing clip doing the rounds on social media after being posted by WPL digital rights holder Jio Cinema, Smriti Mandhana is seen celebrating the big day alongside her Indian teammates, who seemed in jubilant mood at her feat.
In the dying moments of the bidding war for her services, when RCB almost closed on a deal, the Indian players were seen shouting and raising their voice in excitement and anticipation of the final sum that their incumbent would bag. Ultimately, it was the highest bid made for any player at the WPL auction at the time.
https://twitter.com/vinayakkm/status/1625068821324374016?t=YL4ReljJtIUxA_dIzvaSQQ&s=19
Video here (via JioCinema)pic.twitter.com/wwOmryj6Ac https://t.co/DKDzQMuZNu
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) February 13, 2023
In a great clip, capturing wonderful celebrations of the Indian players, skipper Harmanpreet is seen leading the excitement cushion by laughing and cheering for Mandhana while the bidding war intensified on the TV screen.
The Indians were already in a jovial mood after their impressive win to start off the women's T20 World Cup in South Africa against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday and the build-up to the awaited WPL 2023 with the auction in Mumbai only put an icing on the cake for them.
Mandhana became the biggest beneficiary of it, as she fetched INR 3.4 crores from the might popular RCB franchise that enjoys cult fan following because of close association with some great names, none bigger than Indian batting great Virat Kohli.