The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday confirmed and announced the 5 owners of the teams for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the tournament that is the “beginning of a revolution in women’s cricket” and which will the guiding light for a “transformative journey” not just in women’s cricket, but for the “entire sports fraternity”.
The Adani Group has made the biggest bid for a team in the WPL – splashing a whopping sum of INR 1289 Crore to bag the Ahmedabad franchise.
The second-highest bid, of INR 912.99 crore, was made by Mumbai Indians, followed by bids of INR 901 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore, INR 810 crore by Delhi Capitals, and INR 757 crore by Capri Global, who will own the Lucknow team.
At the end of the WPL team auction on Wednesday, the BCCI fetched a total of INR 4669.99 crore, which the BCCI will collect over a period of 10 years.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah took to Twitter to express his delight at this landmark day and WIPL event.
“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,” Jay Shah wrote.
“The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women’s cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder.
“The BCCI has named the league – Women’s Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin,” Shah concluded.
Earlier, Viacom 18, which has the digital rights for the men’s IPL going forward, also bagged the media rights for the WIPL (Women’s Premier League) for a five-season period from 2023 to 2027. The winning bid by Viacom 18 was INR 951 crore which equals to INR 7.09 crore per match for the 2023-27 period. With a revenue-sharing model of 80:20 for the first 5 seasons, all the 5 team owners will get at least INR 25 crore initially.
