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WPL 2027 auction: Australia captain Sophie Molineux goes to UP Warriorz for ₹1.1 crore, the only crore-plus buy

Kiran Navgire was the costliest Indian at ₹75 lakh, 15-year-old Uma Kashvi became the youngest player ever sold, and Chamari Athapaththu went unsold in Kochi.

The Indian Idiot Desk

2 min read4 sources
Sophie Molineux in a red Melbourne Renegades shirt follows through after bowling, with spectators behind a white fence.
Photograph. · File photo: Sophie Molineux bowling for Melbourne Renegades in a WBBL match in Perth, October 2021. · Credit: Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons · Image source · License: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Changes: Cropped to a 3:2 frame and resized to 1200 × 800 pixels; JPEG recompressed. No other visual changes.

Australia captain Sophie Molineux was the most expensive player at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2027 auction in Kochi on Wednesday (28 October), joining UP Warriorz for ₹1.1 crore, ESPNcricinfo reported. She was the only player to go for more than ₹1 crore.

Molineux entered the auction at a base price of ₹50 lakh and drew a bidding war between UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), her former team. RCB dropped out at ₹1.05 crore, according to ESPNcricinfo. The league announced the sale on X.

The left-arm spinner played 10 matches for RCB across the 2024 and 2025 seasons and was part of their title-winning side in 2024, Business Standard reported. She missed the 2026 season with a hip injury and was released before this auction. ESPNcricinfo noted that she led Australia to their seventh T20 World Cup title in July.

“[We were going to get Molineux] at any cost,” UP Warriorz director of cricket Kshemal Waingankar said, according to ESPNcricinfo. “Our thought was her and Sophie Ecclestone together would be a lethal force,” he added, referring to the England spinner Sophie Ecclestone.

India batter Kiran Navgire was the costliest Indian player, bought by Delhi Capitals for ₹75 lakh against a base price of ₹40 lakh. Delhi Capitals also signed 15-year-old Karnataka all-rounder Uma Kashvi for ₹10 lakh, making her the youngest player ever sold at a WPL auction, ESPNcricinfo and Mint reported.

Five franchises filled 25 of the 27 available slots for a combined ₹6.25 crore, with UP Warriorz spending the most at ₹2.60 crore, Mint reported. Twelve of the 25 players sold were uncapped Indians. Defending champions RCB did not buy anyone in the first ten sets before picking up Australia all-rounder Jess Jonassen for ₹40 lakh in the accelerated round.

Among the big names who went unsold were Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, England batter Sophia Dunkley and India spinner Saika Ishaque, Business Standard reported.

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Behind the story

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  1. ESPNcricinfo: Sophie Molineux the top buy at WPL 2027 auction (28 Oct 2026)espncricinfo.com
  2. Business Standard: WPL 2027 auction: Molineux most expensive player; joins UPW for Rs 1.1cr (28 Oct 2026)business-standard.com
  3. Mint: WPL Auction Highlights: Sophie Molineux tops the bids at ₹1.10 crore as 25 players are sold in Kochi (28 Oct 2026)livemint.com
  4. Women's Premier League (@wplt20) on X: Sophie Molineux sold to UP Warriorz (28 Oct 2026)x.com
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