The sale of five teams in the first Women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) team brought in a profit of 4,669.99 crores for the BCCI on Wednesday, with Adani Sportsline paying a whopping ₹1,289 crore for the Ahmedabad team, which ended up being the most costly franchise.
Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals, owners of IPL teams, successfully bid, respectively, 912.99 crores, 901 crores, and 810 crores to join the WPL.
The franchise in Lucknow was purchased by Capri Global Holdings for 757 crores.
“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 ₹4,669.99 Cr in the total bid,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.
The Women’s Premier League media rights were sold by the BCCI earlier this month to Viacom18 for 951 crores, or $7.09 per match, over a five-year term.
𝐁𝐂𝐂𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞.
The combined bid valuation is INR 4669.99 Cr
A look at the Five franchises with ownership rights for #WPL pic.twitter.com/ryF7W1BvHH
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 25, 2023
Women’s cricket’s biggest day ever
Three of the existing franchises, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals, managed to place a winning proposal even though 17 entities, including seven IPL franchises, had made technical bids.
After achieving media rights and wage parity between men and women cricketers, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah remarked, “It’s another red-letter day for women’s cricket.”
“The world’s highest value held by this cricket league. The IPL is the first, while the WPL is the second.
Viacom 18 won the media rights for the first five-year cycle last week with a winning offer of Rs 951 crore, or a price of Rs 7.09 crore per game for the years 2023 to 2027.
IPL Governing Council Chairman Arun Dhumal stated, “We have watched the women’s cricket team play very well in the Commonwealth Games and Asia Cup. Also, with the pay-parity policy, we have done everything to ensure that women’s cricket grows in the country.”
Franchises like Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Sunrisers Hyderabad did participate. On the other hand, their bids, worth between Rs 180 crore and Rs 666 crore, were less than the top five. However, the three current IPL franchises succeeded in doing so.
In a statement, Rajasthan Royals said: “We are sad that our bid for a franchise in this historic first season of the Women’s Premier League was unsuccessful.
Given the success of the IPL in the men’s format, we were aware that there would be strong competition. Despite this, we remain hopeful about adding a women’s franchise to the Royals Family and hope that we will have the chance to do so in the future.
The auction and schedule
Despite the tournament’s expected start date of March 3, Dhumal stated that locations not discussed yet .
It’s still in development. After finalizing the times and dates, we’ll decide which option makes the most sense. We won’t have much of a window because the Women’s T20 World Cup will be taking place. In whatever window we do have, we must consider the logistical difficulties, according to the head of the IPL Governing Council.
In the first week of February, between the 5th and the 9th, the player auctions expected to take place. An exact date has not yet determined.
The tournament will open with 22 matches between five teams. Each side allowed to field five overseas players, including one from an associate country.
‘Shine bright’
The WPL team was a huge joy for Nita Ambani.
“The ability, strength, and potential of our ladies will be highlighted throughout the world by this new Women’s League. I do not doubt that our Women’s MI team will elevate the Mumbai Indians’ reputation for exciting and courageous cricket to a whole new level”, she stated.
since the Adani group missed out on buying a team in the men’s IPL in 2021, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans made it possible. Capri had also failed to make a successful effort at that time.
But eventually, both of the corporate bigwigs allowed onto the Indian cricket field.
