Women's Premier League: In a major development ahead of the first season of the Women's Premier League, the WPL is set to begin from March 4 onwards. The tournament, which will feature top women players having a go at each other is set to feature 22 matches.
According to a report by PTI, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told on Monday that the tournament will start on March 4. "The Women's Premier League will be played from March 4 to 26 in Mumbai," IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said as quoted by PTI. Earlier there were media reports about the dates of the tournament.
Notably, the report added that Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium will host all the matches of the tournament and the opener is likely to be played between Gujarat and Mumbai. Dhumal also confirmed that the auctions for the first season will be held on February 13, a day after India vs Pakistan clash in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023. Around 1500 players have registered for the league and the final list is likely to come later this week.
Notably, five franchises are playing in the first season of the tournament. Each team has got a purse of 12 Cr and will need to buy a minimum of 15 players and maximum of 18.
Adani Sportsline bought the Ahmedabad franchise named Gujarat Giants with the highest bid of Rs 1289 crore, and Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd acquired the Mumbai franchise with a bid of Rs 912.99 crore. Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, JSW GMR Cricket Pvt Ltd, and Capri Global Holdings Pvt Ltd bought the remaining three teams, Bangalore, Delhi, and Lucknow (renamed as Lucknow Warriors) for Rs 901 crore, Rs 810 crore, and Rs 757 crore, respectively.
Viacom18 Media Private Limited won the bid for the media rights (i.e., global television rights and global digital rights) of WPL for 2023–2027. Viacom18 acquired the rights with a bid of Rs 951 crore, which equates to Rs 7.09 crore per match.
