Credit: X
Vrinda Dinesh, the 22-year-old uncapped batter from Karnataka, was signed to a whopping ₹1.3 crore by the UP Warriorz after thwarting off Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2024 auction on Saturday, December 9. After becoming the second most expensive player in the auction, she called up her mother, who was in tears at her daughter’s success.
The Karnataka women’s cricketer, who is currently taking part in the Women's U-23 One-Day competition in Raipur for her state team, was initially listed in the WPL 2024 auction at the base price of ₹10 lakh. After signing for a big money deal with the UP Warriorz, she spoke about her first reaction at a virtual press conference on Sunday, December 10.
Also Read: List of Indian players who were bought for a price of INR 1 Crore and more in WPL Auction History
The Bridge quoted Vrinda Dinesh as saying, “I am excited to play in the WPL. I am in Raipur now, I had a practice session last evening. I was bowling at the nets. I happened to overhear '1.3' as I saw my teammate Shishira Gowda whispering something to team analyst Mala Rangaswamy. I was soon encircled by everyone. The coach, the trainer and the teammates came forward and congratulated me. I jumped in and asked, 'What! 1.3 lakh?' Shishira said 'nope'.”
“I also thought 1.3 lakh was impossible. Then I was like, 'What? 1.3 crore?' She was like, 'yeah'. Then, suddenly, everyone, the batters who were batting, the keeper, everyone ran towards me and hugged me for a long time. Everyone was genuinely very happy. It felt great to have such team-mates around,” she added.
Then, Vrinda Dinesh revealed that the first person she called to share the big news was none other than her mother and said, “She was in tears. They were very happy for me.” The 22-year-old also remarked, “I watched all the matches last season, and I thought about playing for UP Warriorz last season itself.”
