5 Biggest Differences Between Men’s IPL And Women’s Premier League (WPL) : The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 auction took place on Saturday. The tournament’s inaugural edition was played earlier this year, with Mumbai Indians, who were captained by the India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, winning the inaugural WPL title.
It was always a major shock to everyone that the BCCI took as late as 2023 to organize the first WPL season, while the men’s Indian Premier League had started in 2008 and was an instant hit. The success of the men’s IPL brought BCCI an unprecedented amount of money cricket has seen, and it certainly helped produce and unearth a spate of talented Indian cricketers from cities other than the major metro cities.
In this article, we will discuss 5 major differences between the men’s IPL and the WPL:
5 teams in WPL, 10 teams in the IPL
Currently, there are 10 teams in the men’s IPL and only 5 teams in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Yes, while the WPL is only in its nascent phase, even the Indian Premier League started with 8 teams in 2008. Indian Premier League franchises like CSK, PBKS, SRH have not invested in the WPL.
Huge purse difference
There is a massive difference in the purse size of a franchise in the IPL and WPL. In the upcoming IPL 2024 auction, each franchise will have a purse of INR 100 crore to purchase a maximum of 25 players. On the other hand, in the WPL 2024 auction, each franchise had a purse of INR 12 crore. This means that even if we combine the purse of all 5 WPL teams, it will be 60 crore, which is less than the purse of a single IPL team.
Difference in the highest praid player
The most expensive ever IPL player is Punjab Kings’ Sam Curran, who was bought for INR 18.5 crore in the IPL 2023 auction. On the other hand, the most expensive WPL player is Smriti Mandhana, who was bought for INR 3.4 crore by RCB in the last auction. Sam Curran’s price is almost 6 times as Mandhana’s.
Prize money difference
The prize money for the winning team in the IPL is INR 20 crore, while for the WPL winner, it is INR 6 crore.
Free tickets for WPL matches
The inaugural edition of the WPL 2023 was held entirely in Mumbai across two venues. The tickets for the WPL 2023 matches were free. The BCCI made the tickets free to attract more crowds.
