Women's Premier League: Franchise bids get BCCI over Rs 4,669 crore

Members of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) assembled for the the financial bid submission process to own and operate five franchises in the Women's Indian Premier League (WIPL) in Mumbai. Image: @BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on January 25 announced the five franchises of of the Women's Premier League (WPL).

The cricket board has received a total bid of Rs 4,669.99 crore for the five franchises.

Adani Sportsline has won the Ahmedabad franchise at Rs 1,289 crore, Mumbai team will be owned by Indiawin Sports. Royal Challengers Bangalore and JSW GMR Cricket have won the Bengaluru and Delhi franchises respectively. Team Lucknow will be owned by Capri Global Holdings.

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"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of the inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in the total bid," tweeted BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Mumbai Indians which has bought the Mumbai team of WPL said that it has spent more on the women's team as compared to the men's in 2008.

"India’s women cricketers have always made the nation proud in the global sporting arena – be it the World Cup, Asian Cup or the recent Commonwealth Games! This new Women’s League will once again shine a global spotlight on the talent, power, and potential of our girls," said  Nita Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise.

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MI owner Akash Ambani said that the launch of the Women's Premier League is a historic moment. "I'm proud that India is at the forefront of this change. I eagerly look forward to the upcoming season and am confident that the WPL will have a lasting impact on the empowerment of women in sports," he said.

As many as 17 entities had bid for getting the rights of WPL teams and the bids were submitted on January 25.

"This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity. The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder," said Shah.

The BCCI Secretary also said that the new league will be called Women's Premier League (WPL).

A sports analyst tweeted that the Women's IPL has become the world's second biggest T20 league after men's IPL.

The five franchise-based teams of Women's Premier League will play a total of 22 matches with the league being played for a duration of 25 days. Each team will have a maximum of 18 players in the squad, including six foreign players. Each team will play each other twice and the top team in the league will directly qualify for the final. The other finalist will be decided by an eliminator match between the second- and third-placed teams.

The tournament is likely to start by March 6 -7 and conclude by around March 22 before the start of the men's IPL on March 26.

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