Srinagar: History in the Womens cricket was made on Wednesday as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said that the organisation has gained a whopping INR 4669.99 crore as total bids for owning teams in the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL), which broke the record for the inaugural Men’s IPL in 2008.
The BCCI had issued an Invitation to Tender to acquire the right to own and operate 5 (five) franchises in the WPL. Pursuant to the tender process, various interested parties submitted their bids for the WPL franchises. The financial bids were submitted by the authorised representatives of the interested parties today, BCCI statement said.
BCCI is pleased to announce the following successful bidders (subject to definitive documentation and other formalities being completed), it said.
The 5 (five) franchises will participate in the inaugural season of the WPL, subject to the bidders completing the post-bid formalities as specified in the Invitation to Tender document.
Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd won the bid for the Ahmedabad franchise for a whopping Rs 1289 crore. The Mumbai franchise was won by Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd for Rs 912.99 crore. The Bengaluru franchise went to Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd for Rs 901 crore.
JSW GMR Cricket Pvt Ltd won the Delhi franchise with a bid of Rs 810 crore, while the Lucknow franchise was bought for Rs 757 crore by Capri Global Holding Pvt Ltd.
“I congratulate the winners for making successful bids to own WPL teams. The league will give players from India and abroad a chance to learn and grow together. It will pave the way for development at the grassroots level with the inclusion of more women cricketers. I would also like to congratulate the BCCI team for the smooth execution of the auction process. I’m confident that the league will help our women cricketers shine on the global stage,”
BCCI President, Roger Binny said in a statement issued.
“It is a historic day for women’s cricket. I welcome Adani Sportsline Pvt. Ltd, Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd, JSW GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd and Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd to Women’s Premier League. The collective bid of INR 4669.99 crore shows that our stakeholders thoroughly believe in the concept and have faith in BCCI’s vision and plans for the league. I thank all the participants for their overwhelming response. I believe that with a record Media Rights valuation earlier and now with these high bids, the league will be commercially independent and self-sustaining property,” BCCI Honorary Secretary, Jay Shah said in a statement.
“The league will surely provide more strength, but more importantly, create a more equitable future for women and girls in our sport. We are standing at a juncture where women’s cricket is set to grow by leaps and bounds and the WPL and the pay-parity decision earlier are significant milestones,” Shah added.