A women's Twenty20 cricket franchise league called the Women's Premier League (WPL) is all set to take India by storm soon. Owned and run by the BCCI, WPL will have five franchisees compete in the inaugural season, which will be held in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in 2023.
Cricket is rightfully called a ‘religion’ in India. However, for years, the game and glory was reserved only for the men’s cricket team. But the winds of change have been blowing and women have gradually found a solid footing in the world of domestic and international cricket. Come this March, women’s cricket is all set to gain mass popularity with the much awaited Women Premier League.
The India Cricket Women Premium League (WPL) was created as a professional cricket league to give Indian women cricketers the perfect avenue to demonstrate their abilities and compete on an even playing field with their male counterparts. WPL is created particularly for female cricketers and offers a nurturing and welcoming atmosphere for them to develop in, while also promoting the game in India.
The event is conceptualized, owned and run by the BCCI. Five franchisees will compete in the inaugural season of WPL, which will be held in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in 2023.
The Women's T20 Challenge, which began as a single-match event in 2018 and evolved into a three-team, three-match competition in 2019, 2020, and 2022, was the WPL's forerunner.
The BCCI declared in October 2022 that they were thinking of holding a five-team event in March 2023. The Women's Indian Premier League was the informal moniker for the new competition; however, on January 25, 2023, the BCCI gave it the name Women's Premier League.
Organisation
The WPL's structure is based on that of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which it is the sister league to. The International Premier League (IPL) is the richest and most lucrative cricket league in the world. It ranks second in terms of value per game behind the National Football League of the United States.
The competition will begin with five teams, who will compete against one another in a double round robin style. The three teams who finish with the most points advance to the playoff rounds. If the league is a success, the BCCI claims that both the number of games and teams will rise in upcoming seasons.
Franchises
The league will feature five franchises. On January 25, 2023, several investors submitted bids for the franchise rights in a closed auction, raising a total of Rs. 4,669 crore (US$580 million).
In response to the BCCI's request for franchise rights, numerous businesses responded. For a period of five years, from 2023 to 2027, franchise rights were sold. The rights to the Ahemdabad franchise were purchased by the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group for Rs. 1,289 crore (US$160 million), the Mumbai franchise by Reliance Industries' Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd. for Rs. 911.99 crore (US$110 million), the Delhi franchise by GMR-JSW Cricket Pvt. Ltd. for Rs. 810 crore (US$100 million), the Lucknow franchise by Capri Global Holdings for Rs. 757 crore (US$95 million), and Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of alcohol manufacturing company Diageo, won the Bangalore franchise for ₹901 crore (US$110 million).
The BCCI league is the second most valuable women's sports league in the world, just behind the Women's National Basketball Association of the United States, according to Jack Genovese of the media analysis company Ampere Analytics.
Mithali Raj started working as a mentor with Gujarat Giants on January 30, 2023. Jhulan Goswami started working for the Mumbai franchise on February 2nd, 2023, as a mentor and bowling coach.
Financial Development
During the first five years of the competition, the BCCI plans to divide 80% of the income among the franchise owners. 60% of the income from the following five seasons will be split, and from seasons 11 to 15, 50% of the profits will be given out. In addition, the franchises will get 80% of the money made through the competition's central licencing rights.
Franchises will also make money through selling goods, tickets, and advertising.
Player Auction
On February 13, 2023, in Mumbai, there will be the first player auction to choose the squads for each franchise and purchase players through open bidding. For the auction, 1500 players registered their names. With a budget of 12 crore (US$1.5 million), each franchise will be able to spend this amount on seven foreign players out of a possible 18 players.
A side may field a maximum of five foreign players per match, one of whom must be from an associate country. Future seasons would see an annual increase in each franchise's budget of 1.5 crore (US$190,000).
At the first auction, an uncapped player's basic price will range from 10 lakh (US$13,000) to 20 lakh (US$25,000). Between 30 lakh (US$38,000) and 50 lakh (US$63,000) will be the cap for players.
Broadcasting
Viacom 18 announced in January 2023 that it has purchased the worldwide media rights for TV and digital broadcasts of the competition. The contract, which would last for five years and cost 120 million US dollars, was valued 951 crore. The league's first season will be televised in India via the JioCinema app and the Sports18 TV channel, both of which are owned by Viacom 18.
