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Two important events in the history of women’s cricket took place in 2023. While one was the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the other was India's inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL). What was quite interesting was that the WPL auction of cricketers took place right in the middle of the World Cup.
Heather Knight, the captain of England’s women’s cricket team, expected the WPL to be an important topic of conversation during the tournament.
Every major sports tournament requires the utmost concentration of the players. But something as historic as the WPL auction is bound to set people talking. It’s not without reason that Heather Knight called it a “slight distraction”.
England started off their 2023 T20 World Cup campaign against the West Indies at Paarl. Soon after, they played a match with Ireland. But then, the WPL auction in Mumbai took up the players' attention.
Knight stated that the auction was “on everyone’s mind” and that “it would be naïve to think it isn’t a slight distraction”. The England captain stated that she feels talking about the auction is healthy because it’s on every cricketer’s mind. The WPL auction shouldn’t be an “elephant in the room”.
The England team had a chat about it among themselves. Their captain feels that managing emotions related to the auction or upcoming WPL, in general, depends on an individual altogether. However, the team will be open and try to talk about it.
Heather Knight emphasised that the worth of each team member will remain unchanged despite the outcome of the WPL auction. She feels that it would be wise to get used to the changes happening in the cricketing landscape. So, Knight has no intention of hindering her team from finding out whether any of the franchisees have bought them.
She also stated that it’s entirely up to her team members whether they wish to find out the details about whether any of the teams of WPL has bought them.
Royal Challengers Bangalore made Heather Knight a part of their team for INR 40 lakh or 4 million. Her fans across the world awaited her participation in the WPL. Considering that she performed phenomenally across all the game formats, people were eagerly waiting to watch her play.
Heather Knight played in a total of 8 matches, scored 135 runs, and took 4 wickets. It was an impressive season for her.
Knight’s New Zealand counterpart, Sophie Devine, was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for her base price of 50 lakh. UP Warriorz picked up Sophie Ecclestone for £180,000. Delhi Capitals had bought Alice Capsey for £75,000.
Heather Knight stated that despite the WPL auction being on the players' minds, she was entirely focused on giving her best performance on the field. So, she was not informed that RCB picked her up while she was batting. Even the team coach, Jon Lewis, didn’t discuss the distracting news.
Knight admitted that the auction happening on an important match day was something women cricketers had never experienced before. It was an unheard-of thing in men's cricket. While a few cricketers started picking up the news early, they remained in the present and focused on performing well on that day.
Heather Knight, captain of the England women's cricket team, knew that the WPL auction in the middle of the ICC T20 World Cup would be quite distracting. So, she focused completely on the match ahead of her and chose not to worry about the auction. RCB picked her for the inaugural edition of the WPL in 2023.
FAQs
What was the price at which RCB picked Heather Knight?
RCB picked up Heather Knight for INR 40 lakh in the first edition of WPL.
Why is Knight called Trev?
As a young girl, Knight had attended a cricket camp where they mistook her name to be Trevor. Since then, the name Trev became a nickname.
What is the age of Heather Knight?
Heather Knight is 32 years old.
