WPL: At 15, can Uma Kashvi do a Sooryavanshi for Delhi Capitals?

• Uma Kashvi, 15, becomes the youngest player sold at a WPL auction.

• Delhi Capitals sign Karnataka all-rounder for Rs 10 lakh after her prolific Under-15 season.

• Sophie Molineux goes to UP Warriorz for Rs 1.10 crore, the auction’s biggest buy.

From "Uma Kashvi, who?" to becoming the youngest player to be sold at a WPL auction, the 15-year-old Karnataka allrounder became quite a talking point overnight. Delhi Capitals secured her services for Rs 10 lakh on a day when 25 players went under the hammer in Kochi on Wednesday, 28 October, as Uma broke the record held by 16-year-old Deeya Yadav, who was picked by the same franchise last year.

While it remains to be seen whether Uma can emulate someone like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in WPL 2027, the credentials of the right-handed aggressive batter and off-spinner were key to the Capitals investing in her. She piled up 516 runs at a jaw-dropping average of 172 in the latest BCCI Women’s Under-15 One-Day Tournament, including three centuries and a half-century.

Uma has already turned out for India Under-19 against Sri Lanka, taking four wickets in three T20I matches and two more in the one-day games. She is also expected to be part of the squad for next year’s World Cup.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, her uncle Sai Satya Vijay said over the phone that Uma was first noticed by none other than former India captain Shantha Rangaswamy.

"When she was around eight-and-a-half, Shantha Rangaswamy saw her and said, 'This girl has something.' She called me, my brother and my sister-in-law and told us as much. 'If people can work with her and keep her grounded, she has a future,'" said Vijay.

Kashvi also trained under Naseeruddin, Devdutt Padikkal’s childhood coach. "He helped her during the club cricket format," Vijay said.

However, the biggest influence in Kashvi’s life came when she was taken to the academy named Arjun Dev’s New Innings Cricket Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Australia captain Sophie Molineux was the most expensive buy at the auction, going to UP Warriorz (UPW) for Rs 1.10 crore. UPW were the busiest franchise of the evening with eight signings, while defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) did their shopping in the accelerated rounds after missing out on Molineux earlier in the day.

Molineux, who was part of RCB’s title-winning squad in 2024 and missed WPL 2026, entered the auction with a base price of Rs 50 lakh. RCB pushed UPW all the way to Rs 1.05 crore before dropping out, having started the day with only Rs 1.15 crore in their purse.

The spin-bowling allrounder, who captained Australia to the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup title in England, recently returned to international cricket after recovering from a hip injury.

Capitals made the second-biggest purchase by signing explosive India batter Kiran Navgire for Rs 75 lakh after a bidding war with Mumbai Indians, who pulled out at Rs 70 lakh.