One of the biggest surprises at the WPL 2026 mega auction in Delhi was seeing Australia’s Alyssa Healy go unsold. Her name was the first to come up from the marquee set and many expected early bidding, especially given her reputation as one of the finest wicketkeeper-batters in the world. An eight-time World Cup winner, Healy is one of the highest run-getters in Women’s T20 history with 7054 runs, including six centuries and 37 fifties.
No takers for Alyssa Healy
Instead of going for her, the room stayed silent. Teams waited, perhaps expecting to revisit her in the accelerated round, but when the re-run took place, not a single franchise listed her, meaning she was never called again. For a player who has 428 runs in 17 WPL matches at a strike rate of 130.48, and who recently hit back-to-back ODI World Cup hundreds, the outcome was hard to understand.
Healy entered the auction with a base price of ₹50 lakh after being released by UP Warriorz, who previously signed her for ₹70 lakh. A foot injury last season halted her season, but few expected her to be completely ignored, especially in a year when wicketkeepers were in demand.
Why didn’t RCB sign Healy?
Pairing captain Smriti Mandhana alongside Healy would’ve been on many RCB fans’ wishlists. The two are modern-day greats and the left-right combination could’ve done wonders for the WPL 2024 winners. Instead, RCB went for another Australian opener in Georgia Voll.
Speaking after the auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru assistant coach Anya Shrubsole explained the thinking behind their decision. “We have a very strong top order, and Georgia Voll gives us some offspin as well,” she said. “With Richa Ghosh in the top five as a wicketkeeper-batter, going for Healy didn’t make sense for us.”
UP Warriorz and KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar admitted he was also surprised but pointed to team strategy. “When you’re allowed only four overseas players, your options are limited, and many teams prefer all-rounders. It’s a tough situation for someone of her stature,” he said. UPW entered the auction with the fattest purse and signed Deepti Sharma for a whopping Rs 3.20 crore, making her the most expensive player of this year’s auction.
Meanwhile, Healy now joins a long list of unsold internationals including Heather Knight, Chamari Athapaththu, Alana King and Darcie Brown. Teams instead spent heavily elsewhere as Amelia Kerr became the highest-paid overseas signing at ₹3 crore, followed by Sophie Devine (₹2 crore) and Meg Lanning (₹1.90 crore).
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