WPL auction: Delhi Capitals buy Kerala all-rounder Minnu Mani

Kerala all-rounder Minnu Mani made history on Monday as she became the first player from the state to be picked up in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai.

The 23-year-old was bought by Delhi capitals for Rs 30 lakh after a brief bidding with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Minnu had a base price of Rs 10 lakh. 

Minnu was the lone Kerala player to be picked up in the auction.

Kerala and South Zone one-day team captain Sajana S and teen all-rounder Najla C M C went unsold. Former Kerala captain Asha Shobana, who now plays for Pondicherry, was bought by RCB for her base price of Rs 10 lakh.

Minnu will be part of a star-studded Delhi squad consisting of Australian skipper Meg Lanning, Indian Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Shafali Verma and Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues.

"I am super excited. I was following the auction. The way the auction shaped up, I wasn't sure whether I will find any takers," a delighted Minnu told Onmanorama over the phone from Hyderabad where she is competing for South Zone in the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal One-Day Championship. 

The tribal girl from Wayanad fell in love with cricket as a kid. She used to play the game along with boys in the paddy fields in her native village at Edappady. The little girl, however, had few opportunities to pursue her dream and she used to compete in athletics in her early school days. But all that changed once Minnu joined the Mananthavady Government Vocational Higher Secondary School.

That was the beginning of a dream journey which took Minnu to the India ‘A’ team for the Bangladesh tour and Asian Cricket Council’s Emerging Women’s Asia Cup in 2019.

Minnu, who is an off-spinner and a left-handed batter, is one of the key players for Kerala.

The WPL exposure will surely make her a better player.