On Thursday (November 27), the WPL 2026 Mega Auction was held in New Delhi. All the five teams - Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants - came with different strategies in a bid to strengthen their squads for the upcoming WPL season.
During the auction, one cricketer's name evoked curiousity on social media and it isn't hard to understand why. Anushka Sharma! Unlike her famous Bollywood namesake, this Anushka is an upcoming cricketer from Madhya Pradesh, known for her hard-hitting abilities. Apart from being a dependable batter, Anushka also bowls utility off-breaks as well.
From a base price of Rs 10 lakh, Gujarat Giants eventually picked up Anushka for Rs 45 lakh, overcoming stiff competition from defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru who had bid till Rs 40 lakh. The 22-year-old has been one of the rare lower middle order talents on display in India's domestic circuit.
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Apart from her power game, Anushka is also a consistent performer, as is evident from her List A average of 63. In domestic T20s too, her game has been on the upswing and she had a tournament strike rate of 125 in the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy that was held over the last month.
During that tournament, Anushka represented the Central Zone and had also had a fine season for Madhya Pradesh during the Senior Women's T20 Trophy this season. With age on her side, Anushka will hope to use the WPL as the springboard to get to the next chapter of her career.
