WPL 2027 auction: Didn’t expect to land Vrinda Dinesh, says RCB head coach Rangarajan

Kochi, Oct 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Malolan Rangarajan said he had not expected the franchise to secure opener Vrinda Dinesh, after the defending champions completed their squad with four signings at the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.

RCB bought Australia’s left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Jess Jonassen for Rs 40 lakh, currently nursing a neck injury which has ruled her out of the WBBL. The side also brought in South Africa’s batting all-rounder Chloe Tryon and India batter Tejal Hasabnis for Rs 30 lakh each, and Vrinda for Rs 10 lakh. The additions bolster their spin bowling, all-round depth and Indian batting options.

Rangarajan was particularly pleased at bringing home Vrinda, who was born and brought up in Bengaluru. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect us to land Vrinda, so I’m very happy that we’ve been able to bring a Karnataka-born player into the squad.

“She has been doing exceptionally well for India A, and as soon as we saw an opportunity to bring her into the team, we made sure we took it across the line,” Rangarajan said in a statement by the franchise at the conclusion of the auction.

He also said Chloe’s experience and versatility made her a valuable addition. “I’m very happy to have Chloe Tryon in our squad. She is a very experienced international player who has been playing in franchise leagues and performing well.

“She adds depth to our batting, with the ability to bat anywhere between No. 4 and No. 7, and is also very handy with her left-arm spin. One of the key things for us was identifying experienced players who have already been part of the WPL environment.

“We now have a very good mix of experienced players and a couple of youngsters who are looking to play for the country. We’re very happy to have Chloe in the squad,” added Rangarajan.

RCB went into the auction with 13 retained players and Rs 1.15 crore in their purse. Rangarajan said Ellyse Perry’s return was a major boost and explained that Grace Harris had been released partly to free up funds, since franchises did not get a purse increase this year.

“Honestly, Perry coming back was huge for us. There was a void in our batting without her, but we have to give a lot of credit to our girls last year, who did well to counter her absence. With her coming back, we have a very, very good player at number three.

“One big distinction with this auction is the fact that you don’t have an additional purse coming through in every auction. The IPL or the WPL usually have an increment every year. This year, you don’t. One of the reasons behind releasing Grace was that we wanted to manufacture a little bit of purse coming into the auction, and we wanted to be competitive.” Grace, who played a key role in RCB’s 2026 title win, was bought back by UP Warriorz for her base price of Rs 30 lakh.

RCB squad for 2027 WPL: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Sayali Satghare, Richa Ghosh, Prathyoosha Kumar, Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Prema Rawat, Jess Jonassen, Chloe Tryon, Tejal Hasabnis, and Vrinda Dinesh.

Source: IANS