Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday (January 25) announced the successful bidders for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).
In a tweet, BCCI confirmed that the franchises based in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Lucknow will own teams in the WPL.
Adani Sportsline Pvt. Ltd and Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd secured the ownership rights of Ahmedabad and Mumbai while the teams from Bengaluru, Delhi and Lucknow were bought by Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd, JSW GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd and Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd, respectively.
“BCCI announces the successful bidders for Women’s Premier League. The combined bid valuation is INR 4669.99 Cr. A look at the Five franchises with ownership rights for,” BCCI tweeted.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah also posted a thread of tweets, stating: “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. The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder.”
He added, “The @BCCI has named the league - Women's Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin....”
Earlier this month, Viacom 18 bagged the Women’s Premier League media rights for a period of five years (2023-27). Viacom committed INR 951 crore for the first five editions of the much-awaited tournament.