New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS): A day after acquiring the Delhi franchise in the Women's Premier League (WPL), Parth Jindal, Co-Owner & Chairman of IPL side Delhi Capitals on Thursday said he is truly excited on being a part of this revolution which will give passionate women cricketers a platform to show their skills.
During an auction held in Mumbai on Wednesday, JSW and GMR Groups, who are co-owners of Delhi Capitals, successfully won the rights to run the Delhi franchise for INR 810 crores.
Apart from them, IndiaWin Sports Pvt Ltd (owners of Mumbai Indians), Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore), Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd, and Capri Global Holdings Pvt Ltd won the remaining bids for the franchises that will be based out of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow respectively.
"We at Delhi Capitals could not be more proud to become owners of a WPL franchise. What makes it even more special is that it's from Delhi. Through our academies that are spread across NCR we have seen the amount of interest and talent there is amongst girls and women of all ages and I have no doubt the WPL will give passionate women cricketers the platform they deserve to show their skills," said Jindal in a media release.
"I am truly excited to be part of this revolution and can't wait to get started. I would like to congratulate the BCCI and all the other owners who have shown tremendous interest in the women's game. India has been home to the world's best men's T20 league since 2008 and from 2023 our great country will be home to the world's best women's T20 league," he added.
The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League, to be played between five teams, is expected to be held in March this year. The WPL replaces the Women's T20 Challenge, a three-team exhibition tournament, as India's main women's T20 franchise competition.
"We are delighted to have won the bid for the Delhi franchise of the Women's Premier League, adding another gem to our Capitals universe! This exemplary initiative by BCCI creates history with our long-standing commitment towards building a robust ecosystem for cricket. I am confident that the Women's Premier League will further our goals and surely give impetus to the aspirations of many young girls and women in India and across the globe," said Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Co-owner, Delhi Capitals.
Through the auction, the BCCI fetched a record sum of INR 4669.99 crores. The WPL player auction is expected to take place in the first week of February, with all five franchises set to have an auction purse of INR 12 crores to build squads of either 15 or 18 players.
"The Women's Premier League is a potential gamechanger, just like the IPL was. The women's game has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, and the WPL promises to take it to new heights. Delhi has always been welcoming, loving and supportive of its IPL team, and I am confident that the emotion will be identical for our women's team who we can't wait to welcome to our Capitals family," said Dhiraj Malhotra, Delhi Capitals, CEO.
Earlier, on January 16, Viacom18 Media Private Limited won the consolidated bid for media rights (i.e., Global Televisions Rights and Global Digital Rights) of the WPL for the period of 2023-2027.
Viacom18 won the rights with a bid of INR 951 crores, which translates to a per match value of INR 7.09 crores. It is believed that 22 matches could be held for the first three seasons with a possibility of increasing the matches to either 33 or 34 from 2026 onwards.