No takers for Chamari in WPL
Sri Lankan women’s cricket skipper Chamari Athapaththu suffered yet another heartbreak when she went unsold at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction held yesterday. Coming into the auction, after a prolific run at the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), Athapaththu was left without a buyer even at her base price of Indian Rs.30 Lakhs.
Playing for Sydney Thunder as an injury replacement, Athapaththu turned a corner by topping the league-phase run charts (552, second-best overall), to go with her nine wickets, as she went on to claim the Player of the Tournament title.
Given this purple patch, her experience, familiarity with the conditions and a unique skillset, she was expected to be the most expensive purchase of this mini auction but as in the previous season, no team was interested in putting their money on the Lankan skipper.
Apart from her performance at the WBBL, she scored statement hundreds to lead Sri Lanka to their first-ever ODI series win over New Zealand this year. That included a 83-ball unbeaten 108 in a chase of 171 in the first game and even a more belligerent 80-ball unbeaten 140 in the third game. She was leading the charge again, with a 47-ball unbeaten 80, when
Sri Lanka trounced the White Ferns for the first time in T20Is later in that series. Her all-round show – 114 runs and five wickets – formed the bedrock of
Sri Lanka’s maiden T20I series win in England in September.