"VAN" (Sports Desk - 28.11.2025) :: Royal Challengers Bengaluru added twelve players at the TATA WPL Auction 2026, including England fast bowler Lauren Bell (INR 90 Lakhs), Australian all-rounder Grace Harris (INR 75 Lakhs), South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk (INR 65 Lakhs) and Australian top-order batter Georgia Voll (INR 60 Lakhs), along with Indian players Pooja Vastrakar (INR 85 Lakhs), Arundhati Reddy (INR 75 Lakhs) and Radha Yadav (INR 65 Lakhs).
The squad continued to take shape with England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, signed at her base price of INR 30 Lakhs, and Indian top-order batter Dayalan Hemalatha, also secured for INR 30 Lakhs. Prema Rawat, recently part of the India A setup, returned to the franchise after RCB exercised their Right-to-Match option for an uncapped Indian player, securing her for INR 20 Lakhs, along with Indian all-rounder Gautami Naik and Prathyoosha Kumar, who were both signed for INR 10 Lakhs each.
Reflecting on the auction, Head Coach Malolan Rangarajan said: "We’ve been able to cover most of what we set out to achieve. A key focus for us this year was strengthening our bowling group. With the retained squad already in place, the idea was to bring in players who complement them and add value to the overall balance."
Speaking on the squad dynamics, he further added: "Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith give us strong options with the ball both in the powerplay and at the death, and bringing Radha back adds energy, fielding quality and variation with the ball. Prema gives us a young leg-spin option we’re excited about, and the additions of Nadine and Georgia give us flexibility with the bat. With Smriti, Richa and Perry already in place, we were looking for players who could complement that core, and we feel we’ve done that. At this stage, we’ve built a strong bowling group with exciting batting options and a group that fields exceptionally well."
Rangarajan also reflected on the addition of former England fast bowler and 2017 World Cup winner Anya Shrubsole, who joins the support staff as batting coach for the season.
"Anya is someone we’ve wanted on board for a while, and she has been involved with us over the last couple of weeks through the retention and auction planning phase. She brings a wealth of experience, having represented England successfully and captained teams across different leagues. You can already see the calmness, clarity and insight she adds to the group. She’s been brilliant so far, and we believe she will make an even bigger impact through the tournament."
Ahead of the auction, RCB had retained Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil and Ellyse Perry.
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