Inside RCB's squad construction for upcoming season of WPL

AROUND 6.50 PM on Thursday, during the Women’s Premier League auction, a bidding war between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and UP Warriorz (UPW) caught the attention of everyone in the room. RCB, with? ₹2.8 crore in their purse, and UPW (₹33.85 crore) — both had ten players in their squads — were going toe-to-toe to sign Shikha Pandey and not worried about breaking the bank.

- GOMESH S @NewDelhi

RCB went up to ₹2.2 crore (which would have left them with 11 players and 60 lakh) before hitting pause. UPW eventually signed Pandey for a whopping ₹2.4 crore, the third-highest pay of the day. RCB — who had their eyes set on Pandey, the best Indian pacer in three years of WPL — had to swiftly go to their alternate plans. Over the next few minutes, they went on to sign Arundhati Reddy (₹75 lakh) and Pooja Vastrakar (₹85 lakh), leaving them enough money to sign four more players, including all-rounder Grace Harris.

Going that high for Pandey and letting go at the right moment was a calculated choice RCB had to make in the heat of the moment. And it was not first such bid of the day. Early on in the afternoon, RCB fought hard to sign Sophie Devine again before Gujarat Giants (GG) eventually got her for ₹2 crore.