Royal Challengers Bangalore has announced star Indian opener Smriti Mandhana as captain of the womens team ahead of the inaugural Womens Premier League 2023.Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, the current and former captains of the mens team, both made statements in a video announcing the news. The video was shared to RCBs social media pages.“Now its time for another No. 18 to lead a very special RCB team in the WPL. Yes, we are talking about Smriti Mandhana. Go on Smriti. You have the best team and the best fans in the world,” Kohli said.“It is an incredible privilege to captain RCB. What an incredible franchise and so much history and talented players just walking through that dressing room. I am very confident that our womens captain has all the attributes to lead RCB. All the very best, Smriti Mandhana. See you at the games,” du Plessis said.Smriti Mandhana was the first name that came up for bidding in the WPL auction held on February 13 in Mumbai. Smriti Mandhana, a left-handed batter from India, was signed in the recent action of WPL in Mumbai for Rs 3.40 crore, the highest amount ever paid for a player.Under her leadership, out of 11 T20 Internationals India has won six (including five of the most recent) and lost five matches. She has also headed the Trailblazers as captain for all four seasons of the Womens T20 Challenge and helped them win the 2020 championship.“It is just a great feeling to see Virat and Faf speak so much about leading RCB. And I would like to thank RCB management for giving me this amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to receiving all the love and support from my fans, who I am told are the best in the world.” She said in a video announcement, and promised to give 100 percent to help lead the team to success in the WPL.Before the competition, the five franchises- Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz, put their best guesses forward and chose what they believed would be the best lineup. 448 cricket players in total were put up for auction, 269 of whom were Indian and 179 from outside (19 of those players were from the Associate Nations).The list of few players who were purchased at the auction:Smriti Mandhana: 3.4 crore – Royal Challengers BangaloreSophia Dunkley: 60 lakh – Gujarat GiantsJemimah Rodrigues: 2.2 crore – Delhi CapitalsMeg Lanning: 1.1 crore – Delhi CapitalsShafali Verma: 2 crore – Delhi CapitalsShweta Sehrawat: 40 lakh – UP WarriorzKiran Navgire: 30 lakh – UP WarriorzSabbineni Meghana: 30 lakh – Gujarat GiantsLaura Harris: 45 lakh – Delhi CapitalsDhara Gujjar: 10lakh – Mumbai IndiansJasia Akhter: 20 lakh – Delhi CapitalsDisha Kasat: 10 lakh – Royal Challengers BangaloreSneha Deepthi: 30 lakh – Delhi CapitalsSimran Shaikh: 10 lakh – UP WarriorzSmriti Mandhanas CareerSmriti Mandhana was born on July 18, 1996. As an Indian cricket player who has committed to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Womens Premier League for the Indian women cricket team. In domestic cricket, she competes for the Maharashtra cricket team.She received “the Best Womens International Cricketer” honour from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in June 2018, the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for best female cricketer of the year from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in December 2018. She was also nominated for the ICC Womens T20 Player of the Year in December, 2021. Also, Tammy Beaumont, Lizelle Lee, and Gaby Lewis were finalists for the ICC Womens Cricketer Award in December 2021.
