Pakistan did not participate in the maiden Women's Premier League auctions, which has already infuriated several notable figures from the country as well as cricket players who have vowed to uphold the equality philosophy. In the first Women's Premier League (WPL) auctions, India's Smriti Mandhana stole the show when Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Mumbai Indians in a bidding war to purchase the vice-captain for Rs 3.40 crore (USD 410,000) here on Monday.
Urooj Mumtaz, a former Pakistan captain, said the absence of Pakistan players is really regrettable as we return to the subject of Pakistan. “It is really terrible to see Pakistani players not participating, “Former Pakistani captain and analyst Urooj Mumtaz said ESPNcricinfo. “Every chance must be fair and inclusive, and every opportunity is a step in the direction of raising the bar for women's basketball and expanding the sport on a worldwide scale.
They most critically close the quality gap between cricketing countries.”
Pakistani women were all prepared to participate in the women's PSL, but once a new government under Najam Sethi gained office, that idea had to be abandoned.
Earlier, presenter Allison Mitchell had emphasized how Pakistani players must be given equal opportunity in venues like WPL auctions in order for women's soccer to attain the equity it seeks.
“Equality only exists when all participants have an equal chance to bid in an auction, “I saw Mitchell tweet. “Feel for how much the gap between Pakistani players and the others will widen as a result of these numbers. As per IPL, there are no Pakistani players in the WPL Auction.”
Returning to the auction, captain Harmanpreet Kaur was far more affordable for Mumbai Indians at almost half the price of Mandhana at Rs 1.80 crore on a day when 10 Indian players received agreements worth crores or more. Harmanpreet's salary is also not the highest in her squad; Nat Sciver-Brunt of England received Rs 3.20 crore, which is a far higher sum.
In fact, Harmanpreet was not even among the top six Indian purchases, as all-arounder Deepti Sharma, who was acquired by UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 lakh, was the second-most expensive player from the nation.
The Delhi Capitals selected the powerful Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues for Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.20 crore, respectively. They were the stars of the T20 World Cup victory over Pakistan on Sunday. Pooja Vastrakar and Richa Ghosh, two all-arounders, laughed all the way to the bank thanks to agreements for Rs 1.90 crore each from MI and RCB, respectively.
