Despite having just advanced to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup with the West Indies and won the WBBL championship with the Melbourne Renegades, she adds, “I still have a lot more room for improvement.”Deandra Dottin, an all-rounder for the West Indies, had just concluded a squad meeting prior to Sunday’s T20I series opener against India in Navi Mumbai when her name was put up for sale at the WPL auction. This was the first time her name was revealed. She was accompanied in the team room by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and the coaching staff to see the action.
Dottin was certain that a bidder would be found despite his “anxious” state. Her basic price was INR 50 lakh, but she had no idea that she would pay “such a high price”—more than three times higher. She was signed by the Gujarat Giants for INR 1.7 crore (about USD 200,000) when the paddle came down, which was almost three times the amount she had brought in at the first auction in February 2023 (INR 60 lakh).
“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 following Sunday’s match, in which she scored a 28-ball fifty-two, one of the few positives for the visitors in a crushing loss.In terms of my skill level and batting approach, I suppose playing in the WPL gives me the opportunity to develop and show off my skills while also learning a lot from other players—even the younger ones—and to share my experience and offer comments. I am therefore really grateful to be a member of the WPL and to have been chosen by the Gujarat Giants.
“I’ll be honest, it felt really good to know [that multiple teams were tussling for me].”
