Defending champions RCB sign Jess Jonassen for Rs 40 lakh at WPL 2027 auction

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) signed Australian all-rounder Jess Jonassen at her base price of Rs 40 lakh at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2027 mini-auction in Kochi on Wednesday.

Jonassen played three seasons for Delhi Capitals (DC). She is out of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) with a hip injury and is expected to recover in January.

Mumbai Indians (MI) bought young batter Saanika Chalke for Rs 10 lakh. Scotland spinner Kirstie Gordon and all-rounder Kathryn Bryce were also among the players signed by the franchises.


Chalke is a 20-year-old left-handed batter. She scored a double century for Mumbai against Sikkim in an Under-19 one-day tournament in 2022. She was also part of India’s winning squad at the 2025 Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup.

Earlier this year, Chalke finished as the leading run-scorer in the Mumbai T20 competition, with 223 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 142.94. Just before the auction, she scored 85 off 53 balls for Mumbai against Jharkhand in the ongoing Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, ANI reported.

UP Warriorz (UPW) signed Scotland all-rounder Kathryn Bryce for Rs 10 lakh. Her sister Sarah Bryce went unsold. UPW also bought Manali Dakshini and Sahana Pawar for Rs 10 lakh each.

DC signed Uma Kashvi and Scotland left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon for Rs 10 lakh each. Gordon earlier played for England and moved to Scotland recently, so she entered the auction in the Associate category. She played five T20 Internationals for England, all at the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup, and one Test against Australia in 2019.

Gujarat Giants (GG) bought 16-year-old all-rounder Samaira Raghav for Rs 10 lakh. She was one of four players added to the auction pool on the eve of the event.

Many players found no buyers. Among the Indian players, Devika Vaidya, Pranavi Chandra, Ira Jadhav, Tanisha Ohlan, Khushi Bhatia, Nazma Khan, Triveni Vasistha and Palak Singh went unsold.

Among overseas players, UAE captain Esha Oza, Australian left-arm spinner Milly Illingworth and New Zealand fast bowler Bree Illing also went unsold.