India is home to some of the best cricketers in the world, making it one of the most popular sports there. Yet, India has not always been in the forefront of women’s cricket. The Indian women’s cricket squad has advanced significantly over the past ten years, but there is still plenty to be done. A game-changer for women’s sports in India is the Women’s Premier League.
The Women’s T20 Challenge was India’s first significant women’s Twenty20 tournament. This competition began as a one-match event in 2018 and was increased to a three-team, three-match event in 2019, 2020, and 2022.
The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly revealed plans to replace the Women’s T20 Challenge with a women’s version of the Indian Premier League, the country’s premier men’s Twenty20 franchise competition, in February 2022. Plans were further along by August, and the BCCI declared in October that they were thinking of holding a six-team tournament in March 2023. The BCCI changed the league’s informal name to the Women’s Premier League on January 25, 2023, from the Women’s Indian Premier League. The T20 league has six teams, each of which represents a different region of India.
And with the ongoing conflicting ideas about the event’s popularity in a sport dominated by men, the magnificent, grand, and prosperous WPL Auction took an amazing turn. The event moved one step closer to success when dashing Indian Cricketer Smriti Mandhana scored the highest bid of the league at INR 3.4 Crore.
WPL 2023 has secured a number of well-known brands to support its opening match in 2023. The long-time IPL sponsors The Tata Group, Dream11, and CEAT have joined as partners for the Women’s Premier League.
Tata Group has once again secured the position of Title Rights Partner for the Women’s IPL, contributing an undisclosed sum per season. Soon after the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) announced the auction of rights for the Women’s IPL 2023, it seized the chance to sponsor the event. In contrast, Dream11 has been named the Fantasy League Partner and is anticipated to forfeit Rs. 6 crores each Women’s IPL season.
Additionally, Amul is anticipated to serve as the Pouring Partner, giving Rs. 2.5 crores in addition to pouring costs, while Ceat has taken on the role of Strategic Timeout Partner, contributing Rs. 4 crores each season. Amul is supposed to cover the cost of the beverages during the competition as a pouring partner.
Viacom18 also secured the title of streaming partner for a five-year period by agreeing to a Rs. 951 crores contract with the Indian Cricket Board.
The rise of this league will give young, promising female cricketers a stage on which to display their abilities and compete against the finest players in the nation. The Indian women’s cricket team will ultimately gain from this because it will aid in spotting and developing new talents.
By showcasing this edge of the sport, in a country known for the supremacy of male, Women’s Premier League will be the window to view the advancement of women’s cricket.
In addition to this the league will not only provide a financial boost to women’s cricket in India but also lead to the establishment of a Women’s Premier League encouraging more women to participate in sports, not only as athletes but also as coaches, referees, administrators, and other support staff. This can lead to a boost in the Sports Industry, as well as the overall economy, as more jobs are created and more revenue is generated through increased viewership, sponsorship deals, merchandise sales, and other related deals.
