Chamari Athapaththu Posts Cryptic Message After Going Unsold In WPL 2024 Auction

Sri Lanka Women’s star player Chamari Athapaththu has posted a cryptic message after going unsold for the second year in a row in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.

The auction took place in Mumbai last Saturday (December 9). A total of 165 players, including 61 overseas players went under the hammer at the auction for 30 available slots. Kashvee Gautam created history by becoming the most expensive uncapped player at the auction, fetching INR 2 crore from Gujarat Giants. Australia star Annabel Sutherland was the joint-most expensive player in the 2024 auction as she secured an INR 2 crore deal from Delhi Capitals.

At the same time, some big names went unsold and one of them was Chamari Athapaththu. The cricketing fraternity was left stunned when she went unsold in the first auction of the WPL last year. However, she was expected to bag a deal in the recently concluded auction after her impressive performances with the bat this year.

Chamari Athapaththu posts a cryptic message:

Earlier this year, she starred with the bat to help her side register its first-ever ODI series win over New Zealand. She smashed an unbeaten 108 runs off just 83 balls while Sri Lanka were chasing 171 in the first ODI. In the third game, Chamari Athapaththu smashed an unbeaten 140 off just 80 balls. Later in the series, she played an unbeaten knock of 80 runs from 47 balls in the first T20I.

In September this year, the veteran star helped Sri Lanka beat England for the first time in a T20I series in their own backyard. She scored 114 runs and picked up five wickets as Sri Lanka came from behind to clinch the three-match series.

Recently, Chamari impressed in the Women’s Big Bash League too, and finished the competition as the second-highest run-scorer. The left-handed batter scored 552 runs in 15 games at an average of over 42 and a strike rate of more than 127.

However, her impressive performances were not enough to secure a WPL deal for her. Chamari had registered herself at the base price of Rs 30 lakh but could not attract a single bid. And after the heartbreaking snub once again, she took to Instagram to post a cryptic message. Posting a photo of herself in her story, she wrote:

“Actions and Numbers speak louder than words.”

Sri Lankan star Chamari Athapaththu's Instagram story ?#CricketTwitter #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/PM31Uyn3kG

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 11, 2023