WATCH: From Richa Ghosh to Shafali Verma, families of Indian players react to WPL auction bids

It was a horic day for women’s cricket in India as the Women’s Premier League 2023 auction garnered a sum total of Rs. 59.50 crore of investment on 87 players (57 Indian and 30 overseas) from an overall pool of 409 players.
The shackles were broken from the very first player of the first lot, Smriti Mandhana. The Indian opener secured the highest bid in the inaugural auction amassing 3.4 Cr from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Mandhana alongside the rest of her Indian teammates was watching the auction unfold from South Africa following the Indian side’s win on Sunday in their T20 World Cup opener against Pakan.

Wholesome content alert! 🫶🏼 The first ever #WPL player @mandhana_smriti and her team-mates reacting to her signing with RCB 😃 pic.twitter.com/gzRLSllFl2
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 13, 2023
Videos of the Indian players cheering out loud as their teammates went under the hammer took over cricket social media. But it was also videos of their families reacting to the same that marked the special day.
India pacer Renuka Singh Thakur’s family followed the auction on a mobile from her hometown Shimla and celebrated the 27-year-old securing a 1.9 Cr successful bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Richa Ghosh was one of the protagons in India’s seven wicket win against Pakan on Sunday as she constructed a 20-ball-31. Her parents and brother also stuck like glue to the screens as the swashbuckling batter went for 1.9 Cr to RCB.

The tensed and happy faces when @13richaghosh went under the hammer in #WPLAuction 🔨 #WPLAuction LIVE on #JioCinema & #Sports18 📺📲#WPL #WPLonJioCinema #WomensPremierLeague | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/wPMbEtQFi3
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 13, 2023
“All my parents wanted me to achieve was to play for India. I want to captain my team and win a major trophy for India. I want to buy a flat in Kolkata. I want my mother and father to settle down there. I want them to enjoy their life now. They have struggled a lot in their life, and they have worked hard a lot for me. Even now, my father does umpire. After the auction, I hope he doesn’t have to work so hard,” Richa, who hails from Siliguri, told Sports 18.

▶️ Not just from South Africa, we have s̐̈w̐̈e̐̈e̐̈t̐̈ reactions from Himachal too! Here’s Renuka Singh’s family she was picked RCB at INR 1.5CR. #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/BbV40stApL
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 13, 2023
So did Deepti Sharma’s. The all-rounder secured a successful bid of 2.6 Cr from UP Warriorz.

A day Deepti Sharma’s family will never forget 🫶🏼 #WPL #WPLonJioCinema #UPWarriorz pic.twitter.com/yAZHWegoDU
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 13, 2023
Other notable Indian buys included, Jemimah Rodrigues (2.2 Cr to Delhi Capitals), Shafali Verma (2 Cr to Delhi Capitals), Pooja Vastrakar (1.9 Cr to Mumbai Indians) and Harmanpreet Kaur (1.8 Cr to Mumbai Indians)
“I think it’s a gamechanger for all of us. To experience this pressure for the first time, I am very excited and at the same time it will entirely change women’s cricket, not only in India but even in world cricket. It’s a great initiative and we are all looking forward to that. How then men’s team were doing for MI, we will also like to contribute the same way,” India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said.
Among the overseas players, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardener and Natalie Sciver-Brunt were sold for 3.2 Cr to Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians respectively.