Life-Changing Moment: Simran Shaikh, the most expensive player at WPL auction, daughter of a wireman, fetches Rs…

New Delhi: As a young cricketer, Simran Shaikh, a resident of Dharavi, faced discouragement from her neighbours, who advised her father against letting her pursue the sport saying “yeh ladki, ladkon ke sath khelti” (She plays with boys). On Sunday evening, the same individuals who had once discouraged her made their way to her modest home in Asia’s largest slum to congratulate her father, Jahid Ali, a wireman, after Simran was purchased by Gujarat Giants for Rs 1.90 crore at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in Bengaluru.

“I have no words to express my joy. Till last night I was just hoping to just get picked by one of the teams. I have been getting non-stop calls since Gujarat Giants bought me at the auction. There were times when it was a struggle to buy a basic cricket kit. But whatever I have got is because of cricket and I will work harder than before,” Simran Shaikh told The Indian Express from Ahmedabad, where she is representing Mumbai in the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy.

Simran is now the second-highest-paid uncapped player, following Kashvee Gautam, who secured Rs 2 crore from Gujarat Giants last year. However, Simran’s cricket journey might have been cut short if her father had listened to the critics.

“Coming from a Muslim family and being underprivileged, it wasn’t an easy choice to play cricket. I remember people telling my father, ‘Jahid, kya kar raha hai tu (What are you doing?). It is time she learns ghar ka kaam (household work). Sports won’t get her anywhere. But my father didn’t ask me to stop playing. Today the same people have come to congratulate our family,” Simran Shaikh said.

Jahid and his wife Akhtari Bano struggled to make ends meet on a wireman’s wage. Simran is the third of eight siblings—four sisters and three brothers. Simran has asked her father to use the substantial earnings to improve the family’s situation.

“Zindagi bhar yeh gali-kuchar mein nikal diya. Zhopde mein rahe. (Our whole lives we have lived near narrow lanes with open gutters in the slum). Eleven people in our family live in two rooms. Now with this money we will buy a good house and live a decent life. Thank God I didn’t listen to friends who told me to dissuade Simran from playing cricket,” Jahid said

Simran Shaikh stole the spotlight on a day when uncapped Indian players secured impressive deals. Three of the top four purchases were uncapped Indians—Simran; G Kamalini, a 16-year-old wicketkeeper from Madurai, who was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.60 crore; and all-rounder Prema Rawat, 23, who went to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 1.60 crore. These players were on par financially with West Indies’ star all-rounder Deandra Dottin (Gujarat Giants; Rs 1.70 crore) in the mini-auction, where teams aimed to fill 19 spots..

Simran Shaikh reacts after joining #GujaratGiants ahead of #TATAWPL2025 #TATAWPLAuction #JioCinemaSports #WPLAuctiononJioStar pic.twitter.com/qJQu6GGd8Z

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) December 15, 2024