The first tournament of its kind for women in India
The new Twenty20 tournament franchise in India, with a structure similar to the Indian Premier League, consisted of a total of 87 players, with 30 overseas players across five teams. Smriti Mandhana joined the Royal Bangalore Challengers as the most expensive player that season. Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the national team, ranked second as an all-rounder for the Mumbai Indians. Nearly 600 thousand Indian rupees were spent in the auctions in total in January 2023.Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals – existing teams in the men’s IPL bought WPL franchises, while two new teams were formed, namely Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz. The now infamous Adani Group bought Gujarat Giants via Adani Sportsline Private Limited, while Indiawin Sports acquired Mumbai Indians. After their successful bids, the five WPL teams were worth over 46.7 billion Indian rupees.
High stakes and higher expectations
Viacom 18 won the broadcast rights for the league until 2028 at 120 million U.S. dollars, while the Tata Group bagged the title sponsorship for a period of five years with an undisclosed amount. The conglomerate was also the title sponsor of the IPL in 2022 at three billion rupees that year.The Women’s Premier League, a literal game-changer and the very first of its kind in India, was inaugurated at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai. The opening match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions was preceded by a show featuring performances by actresses Kriti Sanon and Kiara Advani, in addition to a set by Canadian-Indian rapper A.P. Dhillion.
Even though women’s cricket has been around for a few decades, this Twenty20 tournament speaks volumes in terms of commercial recognition, attempting to be on par with its male counterpart franchise. Already, the WPL has become the most lucrative women’s cricketing event in the world.
