File photo of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur© BCCI
The first edition of the Women’s IPL is set to be hosted in March, 2023, and the BCCI is leaving no stone unturned to make the tournament a massive success in its inaugural season. Now, sources have confirmed that the Indian cricket board will float tender for five teams and the base price for each franchise has been kept as Rs 400 crore.
A tender document for e-auction will be floated soon by the cricket board. All the existing IPL franchises can also participate in the e-auction.
The much-anticipated Women’s IPL will finally see the light of the day as the tournament was approved by the General Body of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on October 18 at the 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai.
In an official media release issued by the board, it was confirmed that the tournament will indeed be held. “The General Body approved to conduct the Women’s Indian Premier League,” stated the release.
The tournament will feature 20 league games with teams to play each other twice. The table toppers will get a direct entry into the final, while the second and third place teams will battle out in the Eliminator. Each team can have no more than five overseas cricketers in the playing eleven.
“To have a well balance of domestic & international players and to have competitive teams, it has been tentatively decided to have five teams for WIPL. Each team can comprise maximum of eighteen players where no team can have more than six overseas players,” stated a note sent out by BCCI to all state associations.
Calls for an IPL style league for women grew louder with the growth of the game in India, sparked by the team’s runners-up finish at the 2020 T20 World Cup. The Women’s Big Bash League is taking place in Australia since 2016, while the Hundred was introduced in the UK last year. Pakistan has also announced a women’s league for next year.
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