Jasia Akhtar became the first Kashmiri cricketer to be selected in the WPL auction. The 34-year-old Shopian native was signed by Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 lakh.
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The Women’s Premier League (WPL) Auction 2023 took place in Mumbai on Monday, February 13, with records shattered and many cricketers’ lives forever changed. Smriti Mandhana and Ashleigh Gardner, for example, were recruited by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants for Rs 3.40 crore and Rs 3.2 crore, respectively. Apart from the greatest names in international cricket, numerous Indian cricketers stole the show during the auction. Jasia Akhtar became the first Kashmiri cricketer to be selected in the WPL auction. The 34-year-old Shopian native was signed by Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 lakh.
There were 409 cricketers auctioned off, including 246 Indian players. Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Renuka Thakur all become crorepatis after earning life-changing sums as Indian cricketers.
Although Akhtar did not receive such large cash, she was overjoyed to be chosen at the auction. “The original offer was Rs 10 lakh,” she told Rising Kashmir, “but the auction finally sealed at Rs 20 lakh.”
The seasoned hitter is now playing for Rajasthan in India. She was an athlete before one of her instructors introduced her to cricket, which changed her life. The Delhi Capitals welcomed Jasia to the team with a heartfelt message.
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Jasia has always been an athlete. Before being introduced to cricket by an athletic instructor, she had previously played kabaddi and other sports. However, after observing the state of women’s cricket in J&K, she chose to go to Punjab. It wasn’t simple, though. She worked hard to make it to the Punjab team. She couldn’t accomplish much at first, but some advice and push from current Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur transformed her life. “Harman is the only person I’d want to bat for my life.” She stated this in a 2019 interview. She continued to perform effectively at the domestic level throughout formats, making it to the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2019, however, she was seldom in the XI.
Jasia is recognised for her power-hitting and long ball. She relocated from Punjab to Rajasthan and had a breakout year. This season, she finished among the leading run-getters in both Senior Women T20 and One-Day Internationals, putting her in contention for WPL. At the auction, she eventually secured an offer of 20 lakhs from DelhiCapitals. Jasia has five siblings and being the oldest, she bears a great deal of responsibility. This auction sum might be quite valuable to her and her family. Also, if she gets an opportunity to play in the WPL, she might rise much higher.
Delhi Capitals’ full squad: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Minnu Mani, Jasia Akhtar, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mondal
Info on Jasia via Mohsin Kamal
