After an opening bid of 50 lakhs, Ashleigh Gardner was sold to Gujarat Giants for 3.20 crore.
The Australian all-rounder strikes at 133.62, which is better than most of her contemporaries. New Zealander Suzie Bates, who has the most runs in T20I cricket, has a strike rate of 109.28.
Last December, the Aussies beat India 4-1 in the five-match T20I series, and Gardner was one of the tormentors-in-chief at the Brabourne Stadium, which will host the WPL games. She smashed an unbeaten 66 off 32 balls with 11 fours and a six in the final fixture. Later, she also returned figures of 2/20 with her off-break bowling that included the wicket of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh.
The inaugural edition of the WPL will be played in Mumbai from 4 March to 26 March A total of 22 matches will be played, with the Brabourne Stadium and D.Y. Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament comprising Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
A total of 409 players are going under the hammer today in the auction in Mumbai of which 246 are Indians and 163 are overseas players. The total number of capped players are 202, uncapped players are 199. A maximum of 90 slots are available with the five teams, with 30 being slotted for overseas players.
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