The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has roped in Mallika Sagar - a specialist in modern and contemporary Indian art - as the auctioneer for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on Monday.
Sagar is an auctioneer at the Pundole’s in Mumbai. After completing her major in art history from Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, she began her career at Christie’s in 2001, being its first woman auctioneer of Indian origin.
Though this will be her first stint with cricket, Sagar is no stranger to sports auctions. In 2021, she was the auctioneer for the Pro Kabaddi League - becoming the first woman to conduct the auctions in the league.
Ever since the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008, overseas auctioneers Richard Madley and Hugh Edmeades have been the gavel masters, with Charu Sharma stepping in in 2022 when Edmeades fell ill.
But according to the BCCI insiders, it was a ‘well thought of’ idea to get an Indian woman auctioneer for the WPL as it would help in creating the right brand proposition. Since the auction was held at a short notice, logistics was also a factor.
The Board has also informed the teams that each of them should have at least 15 players in their squad and the minimum spend should be Rs 9 crore. The maximum squad size should be restricted to 18, according to the communication sent to the franchises. While franchises can buy six overseas players, the value of total purse is Rs 12 crore.
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