RCB Full Squad, Schedule, Captain, Star Players and Points Table

WPL RCB Schedule

WPL Auction 2023

At the inaugural WPL auction, held at the Reliance Jio Convention Center in Mumbai, the Royal Challengers Bangalore bagged a total of 18 players, which included six overseas players. The franchise bagged two specialist batters, nine genuine all-rounders, two wicket-keepers, and five genuine bowlers.

Their biggest and hottest buy was Indian vice captain Smriti Mandhana. The southpaw will represent the RCB in WPL 2023 and, in all likelihood, will also captain the side as well. Apart from Smriti, who was bagged by RCB for Rs 3.40 crore, the highest for any women’s player at the auction, RCB also bagged some big names in the form of Australian Ashleigh Gardner for Rs 1.80 crore, Elysse Perry for Rs 1.70 crore, and Indian pacer Renuka Singh for Rs 1.50 crore.

Coaching Staff:

RCB stunned one and all, when they named former Indian tennis player Sania Mirza as the team mentor. Mirza’s husband Shoaib Malik is a professional cricketer from Pakistan.

Other than Sania Mirza, Ben Sawyer, who is currently with New Zealand’s women’s team, has been appointed as RCB’s head coach. Sawyer will be assisted by Malolan Rangarajan, who will also serve as the head of scouting. Former Indian cricketer VR Vanitha has been appointed as a scout and fielding coach. RX Murali will take over the role of the batting coach for the RCB women’s franchise.

WPL Journey

WPL RCB Points Table

Royal Challengers Bangalore WPL 2023

• • Indian players: Smriti Mandhana (Rs 3.40 Crore), Richa Ghosh (Rs 1.90 Crore), Renuka Singh (Rs 1.50 Crore), Kanika Ahuja (Rs 35 Lakh), Preeti Bose (Rs 30 Lakh), Komal Zanzad (Rs 25 Lakh), Disha Kasat (Rs 10 Lakh), Indrani Roy (Rs 10 Lakh), Shreyanka Patil (Rs 10 Lakh), Asha Shabana (Rs 10 Lakh), Poonam Khemnar (Rs 10 Lakh), Sahana Pawar (Rs 10 Lakh)

• Overseas Players: Elysse Perry (Rs 1.70 Crore), Sophie Devine (Rs 50 Lakh), Heather Knight (Rs 40 Lakh), Megan Schutt (Rs 40 Lakh), Dane van Niekerk (Rs 30 Lakh), Erin Burns (Rs 30 Lakh)

• Purse left: Rs 10 Lakh
• Slots left: 0

Key players

Smriti Mandhana is arguably the best Indian woman batter at present, and it came as no surprise that RCB went all-out at the WPL 2023 auction to bag her services. The southpaw is one of the world’s gifted batters who relies on timing and finding gaps rather than bludgeoning the cricket ball. She is already one of the leading run scorers for India in T20Is and has proven her credentials by winning matches single-handedly for the women in blue. A natural leader who commands respect from both her teammates and the opposition, all eyes would be on her to lead the RCB unit in the inaugural WPL season.

RCB bagged another high-quality all-rounder in the form of Australian legend Elysse Perry, for whom they shelled out Rs 1.70 crore. Perry has been an icon of the women’s format and has literally achieved everything with the women in gold. She is a genuine all-rounder who can bat in any position, strike the ball hard, and take wickets at regular intervals with her medium pace. She has over 1500 runs in the format to go with over 100 wickets, which just proves the value she brings to the RCB squad going into the inaugural WPL season.

To put it into simpler terms, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine is an all-time white-ball format legend. With Mike Hesson as the chief of RCB operations, it came as no surprise that the Red Army actually went for the Kiwi superstar. Having played over 110 T20Is for the Black Caps already, Sophie has earned the status of arguably the greatest all-rounder in women’s cricket in the format. She has close to three thousand runs in the format and has also bagged over 100 wickets with her medium pace. With such a legend in their dugout, RCB fans would be hoping for an excellent show in WPL 2023.