Women’s Indian Premier League: T20 franchises sell for $472mn
THE five franchises for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India have been sold for (US 572.78 million approximately).
The WPL, which takes place in March, is a women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s biggest Twenty20 franchise competition.
On Wednesday, the BCCI sold the five WPL teams at an auction in Mumbai, with the owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as the Adani Group and Capri Holdings winning the bids. Those sides will be based in Ahmedabad and Lucknow respectively.
The owners of four other IPL franchises, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, were unsuccessful with their bids.
Former England cricketer and BBC Test Match Special commentator Isa Guha described the deal as “a landmark day for the women’s game.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) previously sold the media rights for the WPL to Viacom 18 for approximately 118mn.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah described the deal as “transformative” for women’s cricket.
“A record-breaking start for the inaugural Women’s Premier League and expected nothing less!” former India captain Mithali Raj said on social media. “It will truly revolutionise women’s cricket as we know it.”
Current India player Smriti Mandhana added that it was a “pioneering move” and a “brilliant step forward for Indian women’s cricket”.
A player auction will now be held before the tournament, which is expected to take place at the beginning of February.
Each team can sign up to seven overseas players, with England stars such as spinner Sophie Ecclestone and allrounder Nat Sciver expected to be among the most expensive.
The player registration process has already started, with ex-England spinner and BBC Test Match Special summariser Alex Hartley confirming her application on social media.
Previously, India hosted the Women’s T20 Challenge, an invitational event which started as one exhibition match in 2018 before expanding to three teams in 2019.
The 2023 IPL final is likely to be played on May 28, with the start date likely to be March 31 or April 1. ESPNcricinfo has also learnt that the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is likely to be played from March 4 to 24.
The window for the WPL has to be squeezed into the gap between the women’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in South Africa from February 10 to 26, and the start of the men’s IPL, which will be played on some of the grounds that will host WPL games too.