Sourav Ganguly shocked as Delhi Capitals secure superb bargain buys in WPL auction

Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly was shocked that none of the Women’s Premier League franchises wanted to buy up and coming talent Nandini Kashyap. The right-hander, who has set the Indian domestic scene on fire was expected to be one of the mega-buys of the WPL auction on Sunday, December 15. However, none of the teams seemed to be interested in the player.

After DC put in the bid for the 21-year-old, the thinktank was shocked to see that other teams were not interested in the player, despite a base price of just Rs 10 lakh.

Delhi Capitals entered the WPL 2025 mini auction with a budget of Rs 2.5 crore, aiming to fill four slots. They successfully secured wicketkeepers Nandini Kashyap and Sarah Bryce, all-rounder N Charani, and young talent Niki Prasad.

“Very good auction for us to be honest. I’ve been with this WPL team for two seasons now, watching them closely, involved in the auction and everything. And we are far stronger squad than we were last year, with Nandini and Sarah in the squad now, we are looking very good,” Sourav Ganguly, Director of Cricket – Delhi Capitals (WPL) reflected after the auction.

WPL Auction 2025: Full List of Sold Players

Delhi Capitals were on the hunt for a back up wicketkeeper and their first buy, for Rs 10 lakhs, was Nandini Kashyap.

Nandini Kashyap has been touted as one of the brightest young talents in Indian cricket. From playing for India U19s in 2022, the 21-year-old has taken rapid strides in her career. This year, the youngster has been in incredible form. The right-handed batter finished as the third-highest run-scorer for Uttarakhand in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy.

In nine matches, Kashyap scored 247 runs at an average of 41.17 and a strike-rate of 125.38 with top score of 117 not out against Pondicherry at the Eden Gardens.

Kashyap was also the top run-scorer in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy. In five games, she notched 332 runs at an average of 83 and a strike-rate of 137.19 with four half-centuries.

“I was surprised to get her for 10 lakhs, we wanted to get one of Nandini, Simran or Kamalini, but we didn’t expect to get Nandini so cheap. To get Nandini and Sarah Bryce at that price is remarkable,” Sourav Ganguly revealed.

Engaging in a bidding war with Mumbai Indians next, Delhi Capitals signed 20-year-old all-rounder N Charani for Rs 55 lakhs. She played nine matches for the Gujarat Giants last season. To bolster their squad further, Delhi Capitals acquired Scotland’s wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce for Rs 10 lakhs. She has 1290 runs in 58 WT20I matches.

Wrapping up their auction, Delhi Capitals secured 19-year-old Niki Prasad from Karnataka for Rs 10 lakhs. She was recently named captain of the U19 team for the inaugural women’s U-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

WPL: Delhi Capitals Squad

Indian players: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey, Taniyaa Bhatia (WK), Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi, Titas Sadhu, Nandini Kashyap (WK), N Charani, Niki Prasad.

Overseas players: Meg Lanning, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland, Sarah Bryce (WK).