As predicted, Wednesday turned out to be another iconic day for Indian women’s cricket, with the BCCI making a windfall gain of Rs 4,600 crores by auctioning off five team franchises for the inaugural season, a higher sum than what franchises for the men’s IPL were willing to pay the cricket organisation back in 2008.
According to a tweet from BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Adani, IndiaWin Sports, Royal Challengers, GSW- GMR cricket, and Capri Global have won the bid.
Shah revealed in several tweets, “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.”
He added, “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 huge companies in the nation made aggressive bids for the league. There were reportedly over 16 groups involved, including IPL franchise owners, the Adani group, Torrent, and Haldiram.
It is worth mentioning that Mumbai’s franchise was acquired by Indiawin Sports for Rs 912.99 crore, while Ahmedabad‘s franchise was purchased by Adani Sportsline for Rs 1,289 crore.
For a total of Rs 901 crore, Royal Challengers Sports acquired the Bengaluru franchise; for a total of Rs 810 crore, JSW GMR Cricket acquired the Delhi franchise; and for a total of Rs 757 crore, Capri Global Holdings acquired the Lucknow franchise.
Given IPL’s prominence in India, the event is expected to be quite popular with all parties involved. According to reports, the BCCI anticipated a profit of Rs 4,000 crore from the team auction.
Notably, Viacom18 has acquired the media rights to the Women’s IPL for Rs 951 crore over the course of the next five years, igniting excitement for the league’s March debut.
