SA stars Kapp, Ismail score big at Women's Premier League auction

South African national women's cricketers Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp landed themselves a cool R2.17 million and R3.26 million respectively at Monday's Women's Premier League auction.

Ismail was snapped up by the UP (Uttar Pradesh) Warriorz and Kapp by the Delhi Capitals.

Ismail, who is one of the fastest bowlers on the women's cricket circuit and comes with plenty of T20 franchise experience from The Hundred to the Women's Big Bash League, is South Africa's highest wicket-taker in women's T20 cricket.

Kapp is one of the premier all-rounders in women's cricket and also boasts a Test 100 that she made against England in Taunton last year.

Both players are part of the South African T20 Women's World Cup team, and both featured in Friday's narrow opening loss to Sri Lanka at Newlands.

The teams in the tournament are the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Capitals, the Warriorz, the Mumbai Indians, and Gujarat Giants.

The tournament will be played at the Brabourne and Dr. DY Patil Stadiums from 4-26 March as the women's version of the monstrous Indian Premier League.

The teams have $1.5 million (R26.9 million) to spend on players, with squads that can be sized between 15 and 18 players and that can have seven overseas players.

Of the South African contingent in the first set of bids, Ismail was the only one who was picked up, but Kapp was snapped up quickly in the second round where the likes of Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk, and Nonkululeko Mlaba missed out in the early bids.