BCCI sells five inaugural Women's Premier League franchises for US$572 million

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has secured US$572 million for its five inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) franchises.

In a deal that has been described as "transformative" for women's cricket, three existing Indian Premier League (IPL) teams - Delhi Capitals (US$99 million), Mumbai Indians (US$110 million) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (US$109 million) - secured rights, while the other two teams were bought by Adani Group and Capri Global Holdings, among 16 competing parties.

Adani Group's bid of more than US$158 million to buy the Ahmedabad franchise was the highest of the five purchased, while Capri Global Holdings paid US$93 million for the Lucknow-based franchise.

With the female T20 competition set to launch on as yet unspecified dates in March, the BCCI’s tender process received bids from 16 entities, including the ownership groups of all but three of the 10 current men’s IPL teams.

Commenting on the bidding for the WPL franchises - to be based in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow - BCCI Honorary Secretary, Jay Shah stated “today is a historic day for women’s cricket.

"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.

“The League will surely provide more strength, but more importantly, create a more equitable future for women and girls in our sport. We are standing at a juncture where women’s cricket is set to grow by leaps and bounds and the WPL and the pay-parity decision earlier are significant milestones.”

Earlier this month, media group Viacom agreed a five-year deal to acquire the global television and digital rights to the WPL for a reported fee of US118 million.

Nita Ambani, Director of Indiawin Sports’ parent company, Reliance Industries, which secured the Mumbai franchise advised “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.”

The first WPL player auction will be held early next month, ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Each squad is set to include between 15-18 players, of which seven can be from overseas.

However, each playing XI however will have a cap of five overseas players, but the fifth must be from an associate country.

Since 2018, the BCCI has been staging a three-team Women's T20 Challenge alongside the hugely popular IPL for the men and faced demands to start a full-fledged women's tournament.