Women’s T20 In The Offing; More Than 5 IPL Franchise Owners Interested In Picking Up Teams

By OB Bureau On Nov 24, 2022

New Delhi: A global T20 league for women along the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is in the offing. The BCCI is mulling if the brand new property needs to be called the ‘Women’s IPL’ or be given a separate identity altogether.

It could be called the ‘Women’s IPL’ or the ‘Women’s Premier League (WPL) or Women’s T20 Challenge or anything else. That’s a wait-and-watch for now, News18 reported.

BCCI wants it to match global standards in sport just like the IPL, ensure that it has participation from every corner of the world, is competitive enough to catch viewer-attention, and sets the narrative in women’s cricket going forward just the way the IPL did, the report added.

The BCCI wants to sell five franchises for women’s IPL and according to Cricketnext more than five IPL franchise owners are interested in picking up teams at the moment – Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals (50% owners GMR), Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chennai Super Kings were learnt to be contemplating and could make up their minds once the tender is out.
There is no word yet on the others. Meanwhile, some of the companies that attempted to buy the men’s franchises when the auction took place last in UAE last year – such as a pharmaceutical company based out of Gujarat, a leading financial investment company – are also showing interest, the report added.
The tournament will begin in the second week of March 2023 and conclude around March 23, a few days before the start of the men’s IPL. Right now, the BCCI is contemplating hosting the women’s IPL in one or two cities, before expanding gradually in the coming seasons.

The BCCI will float a separate tender for e-auction of broadcast rights, on the lines of how the men’s IPL broadcast rights were recently sold.
Just like the IPL where central contracts further lead to tripartite agreements after franchises decide to buy the players, the women’s cricketers will be initiated through a draft process in the early stages and then an auction if deemed necessary.
The five women’s franchises will work on the lines of men’s IPL where each team will have a maximum of 18 players and four overseas players will be allowed in the eleven.

The BCCI is putting a lot of emphasis on greater participation from women in this league, off the field too. From building a narrative around the game and the league – be it match commentary, on-ground presentations, corporate partnerships, sponsors, etc. – the cricket board wants to ensure that the ecosystem continues to remain women-centric to all extents possible, said the report