The auction for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 is all set to take centrestage on Saturday, December 9 from 3 PM IST onwards in Mumbai. The focus will mostly be on the teams and the players to be auctioned, but there is equal craze for the auctioneer, Mallika Sagar.

Mallika is an art collector based in Mumbai and has been working as an auctioneer for the last two decades. Back in 2001, she became the first woman auctioneer of Indian Origin at Christie’s.

She was also a part of the auction in the Pro Kabaddi League back in 2021. Mallika also conducted the WPL auction last year.

If reports are to be believed, Mallika is likely to replace Hugh Edmeades as the auctioneer for the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The IPL auction is set to take place in Dubai on December 19.

165 players, 30 slots for WPL auction

The WPL auction will comprise 165 players (104 Indians and 61 overseas). 15 cricketers in the auction will be from associate nations. Five teams; Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers will have 30 slots to fill.

The Giants have the biggest salary cap of INR 5.95 crore and have 10 slots to fill. The Capitals, last year’s runners-up, have three slots to fill with a salary cap of INR 2.25 crores.

A number of big players, including Annabel Sutherland, Chamari Athapaththu, Deandra Dottin, Amy Jones and others will go under the hammer in the WPL auction.

MI, captained by Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, are the defending champions of the WPL after they beat Meg Lanning’s Capitals in the final last year.