West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin had just finished a team meeting ahead of the T20I series opener against India in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, when her name came up for bidding - the very first one out of the bag - at the WPL auction. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and the coaching staff were in the team room with her to watch the proceedings.

 

Although "anxious", Dottin was confident of finding a bidder. She didn't know, however, that she would go for "such a high price" - more than three times her base price of INR 50 lakh. When the paddle came down, she had been signed by Gujarat Giants for INR 1.7 crore (USD 200,000 approx.), which was nearly three times the price she had fetched (INR 60 lakh) at the inaugural auction in February 2023.

 

"Well, to be honest, I knew that I was one of the big ones in the mini-auction, but to be picked first, I never expected that," Dottin told ESPNcricinfo after Sunday's game, where her 28-ball 52 was one of the few highlights for the visitors in a big defeat.