ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE PREDICTED XI FOR WPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB) are one of the franchises that have a team in both the Indian Premier League IPL) and the Women's Premier League WPL). Bangalore purchased a total of 18 players...

- RENIN WILBEN

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are one of the franchises that have a team in both the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Bangalore purchased a total of 18 players at the WPL auction in Mumbai. In fact, they were part of history, becoming the first team to buy a player in the first-ever WPL auction. It was a big one, at that. RCB bought India Women’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana for Rs 3.4 crore and subsequently named her as captain of the franchise. Bangalore’s other major purchases for the WPL, which will be played from March 4 to 26 in Mumbai, were dashing young keeper-batter Richa Ghosh for Rs 1.9 crore and Indian medium pacer Renuka Singh for Rs 1.5 crore. They went for Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry at Rs 1.7 crore among their big foreign buys. RCB would consider themselves extremely lucky to have acquired the services of New Zealand captain Sophie Devine for a nominal price of Rs 50 lakh. RCB’s luck with big foreign buys did not end there. They purchased England captain Heather Knight and Australian pacer Megan Schutt for Rs 40 lakh each and South African all-rounder Dane van Niekerk for Rs 30 lakh. As Royal Challengers Bangalore prepare for WPL 2023, we look at their predicted XI for the competition's inaugural season.

OPENERS: SMRITI MANDHANA (C), SOPHIE DEVINE