Rishabh Pant and Pratika Rawal Headline Delhi Premier League Season 3 Auction

India cricketers Rishabh Pant and Pratika Rawal are set to be among the biggest attractions at the Delhi Premier League (DPL) Season 3 player auction, which will be held in New Delhi on Wednesday. A total of 600 players, including 400 men and 200 women, have registered for the auction, where eight men's franchises and four women's franchises will compete to strengthen their squads ahead of the upcoming T20 season. The event is expected to feature several prominent domestic and international players with Delhi connections.

According to the organisers, the franchises have already completed the player retention process before the auction. A total of 65 men's players and 28 women's players have been retained by their respective teams. Each men's franchise was allotted a purse of ₹1.5 crore, while each women's franchise received ₹75 lakh. The amounts spent on retained players have already been deducted, leaving the remaining balance available for bidding during the auction.

Players have been divided into four categories based on their experience and achievements. The marquee category includes cricketers who have represented India, India A or have been part of an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise during the past three seasons. Category A consists of players who have represented Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy or Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the previous three domestic seasons, while Category B includes Delhi Under-23, Under-19 and Under-16 players. Category C comprises DDCA-registered league cricketers.

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The men's auction will have base prices of ₹10 lakh for marquee players, ₹5 lakh for Category A, ₹3 lakh for Category B and ₹1 lakh for Category C. In the women's auction, marquee players will have a base price of ₹5 lakh, followed by ₹3 lakh for Category A, ₹1.5 lakh for Category B and ₹75,000 for Category C. Organisers have also confirmed that each franchise will be allowed to use one Right to Match (RTM) card during the auction.

Rishabh Pant headlines the marquee list in the men's category, which also features experienced names such as Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Anuj Rawat, Digvesh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Suyash Sharma, Vansh Bedi, Sarthak Ranjan and Tejasvi. In the women's marquee category, Pratika Rawal will be joined by Priya Punia, Priya Mishra, Parunika Sisodia and Simran Dil Bahadur as some of the most sought-after players.

The Delhi Premier League has emerged as an important platform for identifying and nurturing cricketing talent from the capital, offering young players an opportunity to compete alongside established domestic and international stars. With a strong pool of players and balanced auction rules, franchises will aim to assemble competitive squads as they prepare for the third edition of the tournament, which continues to grow in stature within India's domestic T20 cricket calendar.

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