The intense bidding war on some of the world’s cricket renowned names took the cricketing fraternity by storm in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Mumbai on Monday (February 13).

India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana broke the bank early being bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.40 Crore.

After securing the whopping deal, Mandhana shared her first thoughts about being a part of the RCB franchise.

“I think it’s been over last ten years we’ve been watching auctions for men and it was just amazing because I’m always glued to auctions of men whenever they used to happen. It’s such a big movement for women’s cricket too for us to have an auction of this sort. I think this is history, firstly the announcement of WPL and then this auction. I think the whole thing is exciting and I’m saying it’s exciting time ahead,” the southpaw said in a video shared by JioCinema on Twitter.

“I think the legacy of RCB is way high because this franchise is existing from past 10 years for men’s IPL and they have built a huge fan base. So, yeah, really excited to be part of such a big franchise and I hope that we both can together build a great team,” she added.

Having entered into the auction ring with a base price of 50 Lakh, Mandhana triggered a bidding war between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the end, the Bangalore-based franchise secured her services.

“Namaskara Bengaluru”, I think that’s how they say and also excited about wearing the red colour and going out there and trying to get the cup. All the fans keep supporting us and we will try and have a great tournament,” Mandhana said before signing off.

The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League is slated to be held in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. A total of 22 matches will be played at the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium.