Simran Shaikh costliest player in WPL mini auction; Sneh Rana goes unsold
Bengaluru, Dec 15: Mumbai cricketer Simran Shaikh became the costliest player of the Women's Premier League mini-auction 2025, being bought by Gujarat Giants for Rs 1.90 crore even as veteran India player Sneh Rana went unsold here on Sunday.
On a day when five teams competed to fill 19 slots from a pool of 120 players to finalise their squads for next year's WPL, the other top money earners were West Indies stalwart Deandra Dottin (Rs 1.70 crore - Gujarat Giants), 16-year-old U19 wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini (Mumbai Indians - Rs 1.60 crore), Prema Rawat (Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Rs 1.20 crore) and N Charani (Delhi Capitals - Rs 55 lakh).
Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Giants were involved in a bidding war for Simran before the latter raised the bar to net her.
Simran, 22, a middle-order batter, played a few matches for UP Warriorz during the 2023 WPL season. She has made 176 runs in 11 matches for Mumbai at 22 with a strike rate of 100.57 during the Senior Women's T20 Trophy in October-November this year.
All-rounder Dottin, who is currently in India with the West Indies team for the white-ball series, was the costliest among overseas players and was bought by the Giants for the second time in the auction.
Dottin, 33, a veteran of 132 WT20Is, was one of the three players with base price of Rs 50 lakh and saw UP Warriorz too make a wholehearted bid for her before Gujarat Giants upped the amount.
Dottin was signed by Gujarat Giants for Rs 60 lakh ahead of WPL 2023, but could not play the tournament as the franchise failed to obtain a medical certificate before the season. Dottin had refuted the claims made by the franchise.
Gujarat Giants coach Michael Klinger, speaking to the broadcaster, said that both Dottin and Simran were on their radar for quite some time.
"We were targeting Dottin and Simran. They bring in power and batting at a high strike rate. That often creates a winning culture, so I'm really excited for our first two picks," said Klinger.
Tamil Nadu's G Kamalini, 16, who struck a fine 44 in India's victory over Pakistan in the U19 Women's T20 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, also secured her career's biggest pay cheque of Rs 1.60 crore from Mumbai Indians during the auction.
Defending champions RCB added talented leg-spin all-rounder Prema alongwith pace-bowling all-rounders Joshitha VJ, Raghvi Bist, and Jagravi Pawar, for Rs 10 lakh.
"Strengthening our spin arsenal was a key priority. Prema brings great control as a wrist spinner. Additionally, the pace-bowling all-rounders provide the flexibility," said head coach Luke Williams.
Uttarakhand's Nandini Kashyap, who has been named in the Indian squad for the three-match T20I series against West Indies starting Sunday in Navi Mumbai, was roped in by Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals also bought Ireland's Sarah Bryce, Niki Prasad -- India's U19 captain -- and N Charani during the auction.
Another Uttarakhand player, Raghvi Bisht, who is in the India squad for the West Indies T20I series, has been roped in by RCB along with Joshitha JV and Mumbai's Jagravi Pawar.
Mumbai Indians, winners of the inaugural WPL, added South African veteran Nadine de Klerk, Akshita Maheshwari and Sanskriti Gupta for the upcoming edition of the WPL.
Gujarat Giants, who have finished at the bottom of the WPL points table in the two previous editions, also added England's Danielle Gibson and Prakashika Naik.
Australia's Alana King joined her skipper Alyssa Healy at UP Warriorz, who also roped in Arushi Goel and Kranti Goud.
No capped India player was bought during the auction, which included senior player Sneh Rana, who has captained Gujarat Giants in the first edition of the tournament.
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India achieves major milestone in wind energy; capacity now 56 gigawatts: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): India has achieved a major milestone in wind energy, with the country's wind energy generation capacity exceeding 56 gigawatts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
In his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi also said the country must save electricity and adopt clean energy.
“India recently achieved a major milestone in wind energy. India's wind energy generation capacity has now exceeded 56 gigawatts. In just the past year, nearly 6 gigawatts of new capacity have been added,” he said.
Underlining that solar and wind energy are essential for India's development, Modi said, “It is not just about the environment; it is about securing our future, and we all have a role to play in it.”
On April 22, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, said that India has recorded its best-ever year in wind energy capacity addition, with a historic 6.1 GW added during 2025-26.
India currently ranks fourth globally in wind energy, with more than 56.1 GW installed capacity and an additional 28 GW under implementation.
Emphasising the vast untapped potential of the sector, Joshi highlighted that India's wind energy potential at 150 metres hub height is estimated at nearly 1,164 GW.
He expressed confidence that with sustained efforts, the country will achieve 100 GW wind capacity by 2030 and 156 GW by 2036, contributing significantly to the net-zero target by 2070.
Joshi also underlined that wind energy plays a critical role in stabilising India's energy system, particularly due to its peak generation during evening and night hours, which aligns with high demand periods.
He noted that nearly 45 per cent of wind power generation occurs during peak demand hours, making it a vital complement to solar energy.
