For the inaugural edition of WPL, Perry was sold to RCB for a whopping Rs 1.7 crore.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) purchased the Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry at the opening Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction on Monday. Perry was sold to RCB for a hefty Rs 1.7 crore for the first WPL season. The Australian team’s go-to all-rounder is currently on a tour of South Africa for the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, and Renuka Singh, the vice-captain of the Indian women’s team, have also joined RCB.
At an early age, Ellyse Perry distinguished herself by playing for Australia in both football and cricket. She was the first Australian to play in both the ICC and FIFA World Cups at the age of 16, making her the youngest player in international cricket.
In a match against New Zealand in July 2007, Perry made her One Day International debut. She made her maiden game in Darwin on July 22 at the tender age of 16 years, 8 months, shattering records as the country’s youngest cricketer.
On February 1, 2008, Ellyse Perry faced England in her Twenty20 debut at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. At the Women’s Ashes match in February 2007–2008 at Bradman Oval in Bowral, Perry created history by making his Test cricket debut at the age of 17 years and 3 months.
On July 10, 2015, the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) was officially launched, and Perry was introduced as the league’s first-ever player signing and Sydney Sixers captain. Despite losing the first six games of the inaugural season, Perry went up the batting order and partnered up with Alyssa Healy to form a strong opening tandem, which helped the team win the following nine games. The winning streak ended with a loss to the Sydney Thunder in the final on January 24, 2016.
The Sixers won the WBBL’s second season, but Perry’s hamstring injury prevented her from playing in the playoffs even though her team finished first.
Perry had the third-best batting average in the WBBL, scoring 552 runs at an average of 46.0. She drove in the go-ahead runs in the championship game against the Scorchers to give her squad their second straight championship.
Perry had a record-breaking fourth season in the WBBL, topping the league in runs scored with 777 and an average of 86.33. She received the title of Tournament Player. Perry struck 54 not out in an exhilarating semi-final match against the Melbourne Renegades, winning Player of the Match honours, and hit a six in the super-over to advance the group to their fourth championship final. Despite her top-scoring effort in the final against the Brisbane Heat, the team fell short of a three-peat.
In WBBL’s fifth season, the Sixers lost five straight games, partly due to Perry’s shoulder injury. Despite missing several games, she still had a productive season, scoring 469 runs with an average of 93.80.
