Women's IPL: MI, DC, RCB win bids to acquire teams
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Wednesday, announced the successful bidders of the Women's Premier League (WPL). A total of five franchises were sold, with the combined bid valuation being Rs. 4,669.99 crore. The owners of men's IPL teams, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as the Adani Group and Capri Global, have won bids.
Context
Why does this story matter?
WPL, also known as Women's IPL, will commence a week after the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup final, which is scheduled to be played on February 26 in Cape Town. While BCCI is yet to finalize the dates, they have reportedly earmarked a window for the women's tournament. As per the plan, the competition will witness a total of 22 matches.
Information
IPL team owners showcased their interest
As mentioned, three of the five franchises have been sold to the owners of the men's IPL teams. The Royal Challengers group, which owns Bengaluru's team, JSW group, owners of the Delhi-based team, and Mumbai Indians, the owners of Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd bid.
Bidders
Who are the successful bidders?
The Adani Group has attained the Ahmedabad-based franchise for Rs. 1,289 crore. The Mumbai-based side has been bagged by Mumbai Indians owners for Rs. 912.99 crore. Owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore have bought the Bengaluru-based side for Rs. 901 crore. Delhi Capitals owners bagged the Delhi-based team for Rs. 810 crore. Capri Global has acquired the Lucknow-based side for Rs. 757 crore.
Twitter Post
BCCI shares list of successful bidders
𝐁𝐂𝐂𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞.
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 25, 2023
The combined bid valuation is INR 4669.99 Cr
A look at the Five franchises with ownership rights for #WPL pic.twitter.com/ryF7W1BvHH
Tweet
Jay Shah shares details
In a series of tweets, BCCI secretary Jay Shah expressed his delight and shared the total bid valuation of the five teams. "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," he tweeted.
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of 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 total bid. This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) January 25, 2023
Media rights
Media rights sold at a whooping price
Earlier this month, Viacom18 won the WPL media rights with a winning bid of Rs. 951 crore (per match value of Rs. 7.09 crore). The Network 18-owned media house will have the rights for five years (2023-27). This made WPL the most-expensive women's cricket competition in the world. Meanwhile, the men's IPL version remains the most expensive global cricket League.
Deadline
January 26 deadline for WIPL player auction registration
The squads for the inaugural season of the Women's IPL or 2023 Women's T20 League will be picked via a player auction. As per Cricbuzz, the BCCI has called for both the capped and uncapped cricketers to register online to enter the Player Auction Register. The deadline for this has been set for 5 PM IST on January 26.
Developements
WIPL to be played in Maharashtra
According to the "guidance notes" for the auction registration system shared by the BCCI with the state associations, the auction will be held in February, and the inaugural WIPL edition will be played in March. It has been learned that the tentative date for the auction is February 11, while the WIPL is set to be played in Maharashtra from March 6 to 26.