London Spirit Women’s assistant coach Malolan Rangarajan believes a successful Women’s T20 World Cup campaign for England could significantly boost interest in the women’s Hundred competition.
Having previously experienced the surge in attention around franchise cricket during his tenure as head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rangarajan witnessed the enthusiasm surrounding the Women’s Premier League that followed India’s triumph at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. Now working with London Spirit Women, he was involved as a strategist during the inaugural Hundred Auction held in London on Wednesday.
Reflecting on the potential impact of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in England, which will precede a new phase of the Hundred under private equity ownership, Rangarajan highlighted the role major international success can play in shaping the women’s game.
“As Indians, culturally, it’s very different,” Rangarajan said. “You needed a catalyst to bring in that change, and I keep saying that every time I talk about it, I get goosebumps.”
“Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] and the team winning that World Cup has changed the landscape of cricket for women and it just gives hope and it gives the confidence for parents back home in India to tell their girl children, ‘it’s okay, go out of the house, go to work, go to play, it’s fine’. That was the impact that it had on us as Indians and as a whole demographic in India.
“I know it’s culturally very different here, but sure if England go on to – although I want India to win the World Cup – but if England do win the World Cup here and then it’s followed by the Hundred, it will have a huge change. You will have a lot more girls and parents encouraging them, ‘Come watch the game!’ So I’m really excited for what’s ahead.”
The Women’s Premier League recently concluded its fourth season, continuing to drive steady growth in the women’s game in India. However, there had long been a feeling that a senior global title was needed to take the sport further into the mainstream. Since that breakthrough, captain Harmanpreet and her teammates have gained wider recognition through magazine covers, television appearances and increased advertising visibility, with cricket increasingly viewed as a viable career path for women and girls in the country.
Women’s cricket is also gaining momentum in the United Kingdom, with the Hundred auction bringing several players into the spotlight as some of the highest earners in professional women’s sport. Three of the four biggest signings were overseas players, with Australia’s Beth Mooney and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine both attracting top bids of £210,000, ahead of England’s Dani Gibson at £190,000.
London Spirit secured the fourth-highest signing by acquiring South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk for £170,000. She will reunite with Rangarajan after playing an important role in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s successful WPL campaign.
De Klerk claimed 16 wickets at an average of 15.68 and an economy rate of 7.84 during the 2026 WPL season, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker, just one behind joint leaders Devine and uncapped Indian fast bowler Nandani Sharma. She also contributed 208 runs at an average of 52.00 and a strike rate of 131.64 during the 50-over World Cup, including a match-winning unbeaten 84 from 54 balls against India.
At London Spirit, she joins fellow South African Marizanne Kapp, Australia’s Grace Harris and England vice-captain Charlie Dean, all of whom were retained ahead of the auction.
“Because we had retained so many allrounders in Grace, Marizanne and Charlie Dean, it gave us options going into the auction,” Rangarajan said. “With Nadine, we know what she does really well, she is an option for us with the ball – middle, death – and as a batter.
“She’s been with RCB for a while now and obviously she’s had a very good last 12 to 18 months with RCB and the South African team also. As a batter, she gives us depth, has the ability to go play higher up the order if required.”
The franchise also signed Deandra Dottin for £37,000, adding further depth with her powerful batting, athletic fielding and bowling versatility.
“We’ve got four pacers in the team now in Marizanne, Nadine, Dottin, and Mahika Gaur, all different, so we’ve got variation in the attack,” Ragarajan said. “Mahika, with her left-arm angle, taller. Marizanne Kapp, I’m not going to waste anybody’s time talking about how good she is with the ball. Nadine gives us an option through the middle and Dottin, she’s just a plug-in player for us, we could use her however we wish, and that’s the benefit of having allrounders in your team.”
India all-rounder Deepti Sharma was another notable signing, joining Sunrisers Leeds for her base price of £27,500, despite previously being among the most expensive players in a WPL auction when she was retained by UP Warriorz for INR 3.2 crore (£272,000).
Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was picked up by Manchester Super Giants for £50,000 after the franchise lost a bidding contest with Trent Rockets for Mooney. Ghosh had earlier been retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 2.75 crore (£223,000).
Rangarajan said he was not surprised by the relatively modest auction prices for some India internationals, pointing to the unpredictability of bidding strategies.
“I’ve learned this; the auction has seriously got to do with when you turn up and what the gaps are in the team,” he said. “I think people were keeping their powder dry for some of the players, so I wouldn’t say it’s surprising.
“You just learn to acknowledge that it’s the auction order and auction dynamics, as they say. I would have loved for them to get a bigger pay cheque, but they’ll be happy with what they get in the WPL.”
