Mumbai : BCCI is all set for the Women’s Premier League auction 2023 to be held on February 13, in Mumbai. It is anticipated that the auction will begin at 2:30 PM IST and the venue will be the Jio World Convention Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be held from March 4 to 26 in Mumbai.
Sports lovers are anticipating it to be the most thrilling event of the season. This event marks new associations and experiments as it is going to be the most exciting event of the inaugural season of the WPL as teams will be formed from scratch. 5 teams will be playing this season.
The event marks a great leap forward for women’s cricket in India in a series of encouraging developments over the past five months, the latest being the victory of the under-19 team in the inaugural Women’s World Cup.
BCCI has shortlisted 409 players including 163 overseas players out of total of 1525 registered players. Around 90 players are likely to get sold in the auction while 319 players will remain unsold. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier announced pay parity between men and women cricketers across all formats, making it one of the few global cricketing administrations to do so.
Telecast rights were bagged by Reliance-backed Viacom for five seasons (2023-27) at the cost of Rs 951 crore, outbidding Disney Star. Earlier auctions of the five teams for the maiden tournament netted the BCCI R
s 4,670 crore. Adani Sports bided the highest (Rs 1,289 crore) for the Ahmedabad franchise.
Although there is a stark difference in the amount poured into the men’s Indian Premier League (IPL), for which the media rights alone went for Rs 48,390 crore, the numbers exceeded the BCCI’s expectations. Few expected auction earnings to cross Rs 4,000 crore. Hopefully Women’s Cricket will get a boost through this humble beginning.
