MUMBAI: A day after the BCCI invited bids to own and operate IPL teams in the inaugural five-team Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL), scheduled for March this year, five of the 10 IPL franchises confirmed to TOI that they are “very keen” on buying a team in the league.
Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings are all interested in investing in a team in WIPL. CSK have already started the process of buying the ITT document.
“We’ve applied to buy the bid document. Now we’ll have to find out about the economics of it. We are interested. If CSK doesn’t have a women’s team, it may not look good. We’d like to promote women’s cricket,” CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan told TOI.
A heroic super-over finish by #TeamIndia in the second #INDvAUS T20I garnered plenty of praise 👏👏 https://t.co/0YMRxOrb0p
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1670785590000
Massive crowds for India-Oz T20 series triggered interest
“We are picking the bid document,” confirmed Rajasthan Royals chairman Ranjit Barthakur.
According to a source, the BCCI has not set a base price for buying a team. “It seems BCCI has not kept a base price to buy a team in WIPL, which is a wise decision. If you keep a very high base price, you will scare off potential investors,” a source told TOI.
“I think everyone is smart enough n ot to want to lose money. They may not mind some loss, but not heavy losses. If the base price is, say Rs 400 crores, teams would lose Rs 50-80 crores per year, and I can’t imagine anyone having the appetite for that,” said a source.
Here’s a special message from #TeamIndia vice-captain @mandhana_smriti on receiving the support of fans in the thri… https://t.co/aSeAZPVC3K
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1670782851000
What seems to have triggered the interest of the IPL franchisees and potential investors in WIPL is the massive turnout in Mumbai for the India-Australia T20I series in December — a record 47,000 fans turned up for the second game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
In addition, the inaugural ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup, which will kick off on January 14, followed by the Women’s T20 World Cup in February, will build fans’ appetite for quality women’s cricket, besides providing team s with plenty of players to pick for their teams.
A victory lap to honour the crowd who were in attendance to support the women in blue Over 47,000 in attendance f… https://t.co/VCE88upoq0
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) 1670779549000
The opening season of WIPL is likely to be played from the first week of March to the end of the month, before the IPL kicks off. It will have five teams.
There’s a possibility that the entire league will be played in Mumbai, which has three world-class grounds — Wankhede Stadium, DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium — but this could not be confirmed.
