5:20pm IST | Stumps: Curtains down. We've spruced up our squad, the to-be-champions. WPL 2025, here we come! Paltan, how's the josh? We have to wait a couple of months for the WPL to kick off, and we couldn't be more ready!

While the other teams stack up, let's go on and officially meet the Blue and Gold army for the 2025 WPL, shall we? 

******

5:10pm IST: How's that to cap things off! Say hello to Akshita Maheshwari, the Rajasthan pace-bowling all-rounder, is the #18. That's it then, our bunch of 2025 is here, and we are all set to get back the crown!  

4:45pm local | Final burst: Right then, one final break. All teams would be sharing a couple of players they'd like for another accelerated round. We have one slot and have 65 lakhs for the same. Who's next to be unearthed?

4:40pm local: The break is done, and we are back in action quickly. Sanskriti Gupta, a 20-year-old all-rounder who bowls off-spin and bats left-handed, is next to be unearthed by our scouting team. She comes from Madhya Pradesh, a land that's already given us a star in Pooja Vastrakar Welcome, welcome .. 

******

We have a 30-minute break, and every team has been asked to share a list of five players they'd like to see come up at for accelerated round. Quick, tell us your final two slots. We're taking notes. 

3:50pm IST | Tea time: Woah, this is going rather fast. We've filled up two of our potential four slots. Most other teams have done a bulk of their heavy shopping as well. But this first hour has been the story of young Indian uncapped players, players not many may've heard of, taking home the big bucks.

3:30pm IST: Quite immediately, we are in a bidding war. While getting Nadine was quite simple, snapping her up at her base price, G Kamalini, India's under-19 wicket-keeper, has caused some real interest. Delhi Capitals aren't giving up either, and so, from her base price of 10 lakhs INR, she's laughing all the way to the bank, with a whopping 1.6cr INR, and a deal with the Mumbai Indians. We have bagged this 16-year-old Tamil Nadu star!

WE HAVE A BUY! Our overseas player is here: Nadine de Klerk -- in the prime of her career, she is all set to don the iconic Blue and Gold! She was the star for the South Africans at the recent T20 World Cup, and we cannot wait to see her do the same for us. 

3:00pm IST- | First session: We'll start with the capped players who will come out in the first set. Chala Paltan, let's start, Ganpati Bappa Morya!!

******

2:45pm IST: 15 minutes to do before the paddles start going up, and the Auction room in Bengaluru looks nice and ready to buzz with action. Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Giants need four players each, while UP Warriorz need three. Oh it's set to be very tightly contested. Geared up, already?

Here’s another reminder of what we have and what we need:

Purse available: 2.65cr INR

Slots available: 4 (3 overseas, 1 Indian)

Players available: 124

Players released from the batch of 2024: Fatima Jaffer, Humairaa Kaazi, Issy Wong, Priyanka Bala

2:30pm IST | The start: Start counting down! Mumbai Indians’ WPL squad of 2025 is all set to come to life in the next few hours. If 2023 was about us creating history and winning the title, 2024 ended in a heartbreak at the playoffs. Our job is set for 2025. We are coming for that title. And this is where it all begins! Hello, welcome to this live blog, where we take you through all of MI’s buys, misses, and have some fun on the way as we do it.