WPL likely to begin on March 4: Details here
What's the story
The inaugural season of the Women's Premier League (WPL) is likely to be played from March 4 to 24, reported ESPNcricifo.
Meanwhile, it has also been learned that the men's Indian Premier League (IPL) will either kick-start on March 31 or April 1.
The 16th edition of the competition will conclude on May 28.
Here are further details.
Window
Window for Women's Premier League
Meanwhile, the inaugural edition of the WPL will get underway a week after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, which will be played between February 10 and 26.
The window for the WPL has to be adjusted between the WC and men's IPL.
The thought process is to conclude the WPL a week before the IPL in order to keep the grounds fresh.
Schedule
Schedule of WPL yet to come
Arun Dhumal, the chairman of the IPL, on Wednesday stated that the schedule of the tournament and the decision on how many venues would be used is yet to be finalized.
As per the reported plan, the competition will witness a total of 22 matches.
Five teams will feature in WPL 2023 based in Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad.
Bidders
BCCI announce successful bidders of WPL
Meanwhile, BCCI on Wednesday announced the successful bidders of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
The five franchises were sold at a combined bid valuation of Rs. 4,669.99 crore.
Three owners of men's IPL teams also won bids.
Notably, each franchise will have an auction purse of Rs. 12 crore to build their squads.
The squad strength will be between 15 and 18 players.
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.
Media rights
Viacom18 wins Women's IPL media rights
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.
Auction
WPL player auction to take place in early February
The squads for the inaugural WPL will be picked via a player auction.
The bidding event will take place in the first week of February.
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 January 26.