Rahul NareshThe first-ever season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is set to kick off next month. With the conclusion of the auction, teams will prepare their best possible elevens to take the field. While some players went for massive sums as expected before the auction began, there were also a few underwhelming responses for star players.
Considering the amount paid by franchises for the players, their form in-game, their social media presence, and their ability to appear as a marketing potential, brands will be looking to line up some of the athletes for potential sponsorship deals.
Expectations from certain athletes will be incredibly high moving into this tournament. In this article, we take a look at the top five foreign players who could be handy endorsers for the brands.
Also read: Top 5 Indian players brands should approach ahead of Women’s Premier League 2023
Ellyse Perry
Cricketers in the women’s game do not get any more significant than the Aussie all-rounder Ellyse Perry. She is an absolute champion of the game. Most would love her to be on their side in a game of cricket. Recently, she was bought by the Royal Challengers of Bangalore (RCB) for a stunning ?1.7 crore.
Perry will play a major role in the coming WPL season for the RCB and is a crucial component of the Australian T20I team, who are looking to win the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. The all-rounder is immense with the ball and a handy batter at #4 and #5.
Perry also has an incredible social media presence across multiple platforms. She has a million followers on Instagram, a little less than 100,000 on Twitter, and 1.4 million on Facebook. She loves her time on Instagram, posting every now and then.
Perry has worked with brands like JPG AVAN, Weet-bix Australia and Adidas among many others. She often posts on her social media concerning her paid partnerships, and there is potential to crack some good deals with her.
Alyssa Healy
Up next is yet another Aussie: Alyssa Healy. The opening batter is explosive and, alongside Beth Mooney, looks more dangerous than ever. Just like Perry, Healy is also 32 years old and has spent quite some time playing the game.
The popular wicketkeeper-batter was picked up incredibly cheap compared to most players at the WPL auction, going for just ?70 lakh to the UP Warriorz. She will play an important role for her side, being one of the experienced heads. She’s off to a flyer in the T20 World Cup as well, having scored a fifty against New Zealand and a reasonable knock against Bangladesh.
Healy also likes the odd Instagram post and has a good social media presence. She is at the 143,000 mark as far as her Instagram followers go and has over 79,300 followers on Twitter. She has associated herself with some big brands, and there is undoubtedly potential for brands to approach Healy prior to the commencement of WPL 2023.
Healy has previously worked with sportswear manufacturer Asics and health and wellness brand Raydel among others.
Sophia Dunkley
The young 24-year-old Englishwoman is growing rapidly in the international cricketing circuit. Dunkley has cemented her place in the white-ball setup for England and has also broken into the national Test side, now opening the batting for England. As seen in the past, Dunkely can score runs at a rapid pace.
At the WPL auction, Dunkley was picked up by the Gujarat Giants for ?60 lakh, which some would argue is a steal for a player of her quality.
Dunkley does like her Instagram and loves posting every now and then. She has over 34,200 followers at the moment, a number sure to increase as she goes deeper into her career.
As far partnerships with the batter are concerned, Dunkley does work with some prominent brands. She is currently working with Gym Coffee and often posts in its athleisure line. She’s also associated with one of the all-time servers of cricketing products in Gray-Nicolls. Therefore, it would make sense to look for partnership opportunities with this young English sensation.
Ashleigh Garnder
Another Aussie and one of the hottest prospects in women’s cricket at the moment. The girl from New South Wales is known for her explosive abilities with the bat and can contribute with her canny off-spin if need be.
Gardner is a key component of the current Australian national women’s T20I set-up looking to win the World Cup over in South Africa. She made the news after the WPL auction when she was picked up by the Gujarat Giants for a whopping ?3.2 crore, becoming one of the most expensive buys of the inaugural WPL auction.
Gardner is building her social media presence as well. She has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram and a tad more than 11,000 on Twitter. She has also already worked with some notable brands like Phillips, DSC and Ryobi.
It would certainly not be a bad choice to strike a deal with Gardner given her existing presence and years ahead in the sport.
Marizanne Kapp
Our final pick on this list is the experienced South African, Marizanne Kapp. The 33-year-old all-rounder has been around for a while now and is a mainstay in the current South-African white-ball setup. She bats at #3 and bowls some handy overs for the Proteas. Kapp was also picked up for a hefty amount by the Delhi Capitals at the WPL auction, going for ?1.5 crore.
It is also worthy noting that Kapp has a great social media reach. She has over 80,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 50,000 on Twitter. She is extremely active on Instagram and posts very frequently. The only thing pushing her down on this list is the time she has left in the sport.
Kapp has also worked with brands like DSC, ISDIN South Africa and Puma among others. She often puts out posts for her affiliations with Puma and ISDIN South Africa, thereby making her a popular choice for partnerships in the future. However, given that she will be playing a major role in the WPL, Kapp’s stocks could yet rise.
