Rare Tests ahead for Indian women's cricket

Indian women's cricket has come a long way in the past six years. Now, they are eager to make their mark in Test matches

- Deepti Patwardhan

In a few dizzying hours, Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh went from talented, uncapped youngsters to millionaires. Gautam and Dinesh were two of the most sought-after players at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 auction, which took place in Mumbai on Saturday. Dinesh, an exciting opener, became the first uncapped player to fetch more than a crore at a WPL auction, as she was signed on by the UP Warriorz for ₹1.3 crore. Moments later, Gautam, a fiery pacer who can contribute with the bat, became the joint most expensive buy of the day as Gujarat Giants acquired her for ₹2 crore.

Most of the big names in women’s cricket were not in the auction pool since they had been retained by their franchises. But to put it in perspective, Gautam fetched a bigger price tag this year than Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur ( ₹1.80 crore) had in the Season 1 auction last year. As the teams are casting the net wider, bringing more fresh talent into the fold, WPL’s riches have started trickling down the order.

It's an exciting time for women’s cricket. The proliferation of franchise leagues, like WPL, Women’s Big Bash League and The Hundred, as well as limited overs cricket has propped the sport to a new high. Amid the heady rise, though, Test cricket is teetering into irrelevance.