UP Warriorz Sign Sophie Molineux for 1.10 Crore at WPL 2027 Auction
Listen to the story
Franchises assembled their squads for the upcoming season at the WPL 2027 auction, with several notable deals confirmed.
The WPL, or Women's Premier League, is India's professional women's cricket competition, now in its latest edition.
UP Warriorz secured Australian all-rounder Sophie Molineux for 1.10 crore rupees, a substantial fee that reflects her value to the squad.
A crore is equivalent to ten million rupees, making the deal one of the bigger transactions of the day.
The franchise also chose to retain Grace Harris, bringing the Australian player back into the fold after a previous stint with the team.
Reports from the auction indicated that Molineux and fellow player Kiran emerged as the top earners overall, commanding the highest fees among those bought.
Meanwhile, a player identified only as Kashvi was said to have scripted history at the auction, although specific details of the achievement were not elaborated upon in available reports.
Perhaps the most significant storyline to emerge, however, centred on Orla Prendergast, a cricketer representing Ireland.
Prendergast became the first Ireland player ever to be sold at a WPL auction, a landmark moment for Irish cricket and a sign of the tournament's expanding global footprint.
Her signing suggests that WPL franchises are increasingly willing to look beyond the traditional cricketing powerhouses when scouting talent.
The WPL auction process allows teams to bid competitively for available players, with fees often reflecting a mix of recent form, experience and perceived market value.
As the dust settles on this year's auction, attention will now turn to how these newly assembled squads perform once the season gets underway.
Both Molineux's high-value move and Prendergast's historic signing are likely to be talked about as the tournament approaches, with fans and analysts watching closely to see whether the investments pay off on the field.
Vocabulary7 words
- auction
- an event where people offer money to buy something, and the highest offer wins
- WPL
- a women's cricket league in India
- crore
- a number equal to ten million
- retain
- to keep someone instead of letting them leave
- all-rounder
- a player who is skilled at both batting and bowling
- scripted history
- did something for the very first time
- signing
- the act of officially joining a team
Quiz
Answer key
1. 1.10 crore rupees 2. It shows the WPL's growing international reach 3. False
โ Nice work on the quiz!
Keep the momentum going โ book a live English lesson with a Preply tutor.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think international players like Orla Prendergast are increasingly being signed by leagues like the WPL?
- What factors do you think influence how much a player is paid at an auction like this?
- Do you think retaining players from previous seasons, like UP Warriorz did with Grace Harris, is a good strategy? Why or why not?
- How do events like player auctions affect the popularity of a sports league?
๐ Enjoyed this story?
Turn today's reading into real speaking practice with a live Preply tutor.

