The Women’s Indian Premier League has been the focus of intense effort from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and in recent weeks, the board has made a number of choices to make the competition as popular as the men’s game. The Women’s IPL is a significant step in the growth and development of women’s cricket not just in India but in all other countries as well. In India, the IPL is celebrated like a festival.
Following the Women’s NBA, the Women’s IPL is now the second-most expensive women’s sports league when Viacom 18 won the bid for the media rights to the Women’s IPL for a staggering INR 951 crore. If we limit ourselves to the cricket sector, the Women’s IPL, with a set price of INR 7.09 CR each game, overtook the Men’s IPL as the most expensive property. According to the most recent Cricbuzz report, it is believed that a prize fund of INR 10 crore has been set up for the league’s players. The winners of the pool will receive INR 6 crore, and the runner-up will receive INR 3 crore. The third-place team in the league will receive INR 1 crore, and all player prize money will be divided equally among the players.
After the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which concludes on February 26 in South Africa, the Women’s IPL is likely to start in the first week of March. For the first three years, the competition will consist of five teams; a sixth team will be added later. The women’s IPL will also allow five abroad players in the playing lineup, compared to the men’s IPL’s four starting foreign players. A number of current IPL teams have expressed interest in owning a women’s team, and the BCCI has also issued an invitation to tender. The first-ever Women’s IPL will shortly begin with the announcement of the top five teams.
