MUMBAI: Women's cricket has touched a new glass ceiling in India. It is the latest goldmine that the Indian cricket Board has discovered. On Wednesday, five companies, with the Adani Group leading the race, which made the highest bid-Rs 1289 crore-for the Ahmedabad franchise, splurged as much as Rs 4669.99 crore to buy the five teams for the women’s IPL, which has been named as the Women's Premier League (WPL) by the BCCI. The astounding figure, achieved through a ‘sealed bid’ process, exceeded all expectations, with even the BCCI's top officials left surprised.
The four others with the biggest bids were the Mumbai Indians (Rs 912.99 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 901 crore), Delhi Capitals (Rs 810 crore) and Capri Global (Rs 757 crore). Adani and Capri Global, which owns Sharjah Warriors in ILT20 in UAE, are the new team owners in the BCCI fold, while MI, RCB and DC already have an IPL team. As was in the case of the IPL, the BCCI will rake in the moolah from the five franchises over a period of 10 years.
“Today is another great day for women’s cricket after successful sale of WPL media rights and pay parity between men and women cricketers,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah told reporters here.
In a tweet, Shah claimed that the BCCI raked in more money from the sale of WPL teams that it did in 2008 when it launched the IPL. "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 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," he tweeted.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal too backed Shah’s statement that WPL’s team sale had earned more money for the Board than IPL 2008’s eight-team auction.
“This is another landmark day for the BCCI and IPL. The amount of the men’s IPL back in 2008 was lower than this, if you calculate on the basis of multiple and put inflation into account. On the basis of that, the valuation is beyond that. It augurs well for women’s cricket in India. We’ve seen them performing exceedingly well in India, bet in CWG, Asia Cup, in the series vs England. And like the (BCCI) secretary said, after the pay parity thing, we’ve done everything possible for BCCI to see to it that women’s cricket flourishes in India,” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told reporters here.
The highly successful sale of the five franchises is another shot in the arm for the women’s IPL. Earlier this month, the BCCI earned Rs 951 cr from the sale of the league’s media rights for a five-year period between 2023 and 2027.
The players’ auction is likely to be in the first week of February, just ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, which kicks off on February 10. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said that finalising the schedule and itinerary for the first season of the WPL was "a work in progress," but the likely dates are March 4-26. The first three seasons of the league will involve 22 matches each, after which the number of matches per season will be increased to 34, with a sixth team added too.
16 companies took part in the team bidding process, with 17 having submitted their bids. MI owner Nita Ambani said, “With great joy and pride, I welcome our women’s cricket team to the MI #OneFamily! This is a historic moment for Indian cricket, and we are delighted to be a part of it. 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. I’m sure our Women’s MI team will take the Mumbai Indians brand of fearless and entertaining cricket to a new level altogether. My heartiest congratulations to BCCI on this landmark announcement! It will pave the way for more and more young women to take up professional sport. At Reliance, we remain committed to the glorious rise of women not just in cricket, but sport in general.”
Prathmesh Mishra, Chairman of RCB, said, “RCB marked a historic moment today which will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come. We are thrilled to be a part of this mission with BCCI to revolutionise women’s cricket, not just in India but across the globe. At the core of Diageo, is the value of gender inclusivity that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense and this enterprise champions us to welcome and celebrate women’s cricket for who they are and the value they bring in the journey of this sport, Cricket. Therefore, it is a fitting asset in the right direction for Diageo India owned franchise. We held back all our investments in overseas teams to own a team that aligns with this philosophy and core value, and it gives us immense pleasure to have marked this accomplishment positively. We really look forward to bringing the first season of Women’s IPL to our most loyal and lovely fans.”
