Credit: X
Former Sri Lankan batter Russell Arnold has expressed his disappointment after Sri Lankan women's captain Chamari Athapaththu went unsold in the Women's Premier League 2024 auction. Ahead of the auction, Athapaththu was touted to be one of the most expensive players but like the previous edition, found no suitors this year as well.
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Addressing Chamari Athapaththu's non-selection, Russell Arnold took to X (formerly Twitter) and questioned the mindset of the franchise in the auction. Arnold wrote how Athapaththu had put in some incredible performances like her Women's Big Bash League Player of the Tournament accolade but was left without a team.
He posted: "Chamari Athapaththu 🤔🤔🤔 #WPL So she has to do some much more than otherd on the park and she has done it but still no takers ..strange one this... 🤔🤔🤔really strange ..."
Check out the tweet here:
Coming back to the WBBL, Chamari Athapathu scored 552 runs, the second-most in the season, with a strike rate of 127.18. Similarly, she also picked up nine wickets with the ball at an economy rate of just under seven. Before the Australian T20 tournament, the Sri Lankan captain scored two unbeaten centuries in her country's first-ever ODI series win against New Zealand.
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She also smashed a stunning 47-ball 80 for their first win in a T20I against the White Ferns. Continuing this form, Chamari Athapathu also led Sri Lanka in their first T20I series win over England in September. Despite being unsold in the auction, Athapathu could find a team during the recalled list of players towards the end of the auction.
