Women’s IPL fetches Rs 4,669 crore in bidding; Adani, Indiawin top bidders

The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has garnered Rs 4,669.99 crore from the bidding of the teams for the inaugural edition of women’s IPL. The league will be called “Women’s Premier League (WPL)”.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday tweeted that the bids are higher than the inaugural edition of men’s IPL.

“Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of the 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,” Shah wrote on Twitter.

“The @BCCI has named the league – Women’s Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin…”, he added.

According to BCCI, Adani Sportsline emerged as the highest bidder at Rs 1,289 crore. It was followed by Mumbai-based Indiawin Sports at Rs 912.99 crore, Bengaluru’s Royal Challengers Sports for Rs 901 crore and Delhi-based JSW GMR Cricket at Rs 810 crore. Lucknow’s Capri Global Holdings bid the highest for Lucknow at Rs 757 crore.

The combined bid valuation is INR 4669.99 Cr

A look at the Five franchises with ownership rights for #WPL pic.twitter.com/ryF7W1BvHH

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 25, 2023

According to executives at the BCCI, teams like Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings have put in technical bids on Monday, showing their formal interest in owning a WIPL team.

The women’s edition of the IPL will have five teams in all and will be played in March. Wednesday will see interested players putting in financial bids in sealed envelopes, which will be opened on the same day by the BCCI.

Business Standard earlier reported that companies such as Haldiram’s, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Capri Global, and Adani Group, among others, submitted technical bids on Monday. These firms were part of over 30 interested entities that picked up the tender documents last week for the upcoming WIPL team auction.