BCCI announces five WPL franchises - MI, RCB, DC among owners
Smriti Mandhana and Jhulan Goswami in Trailblazers' jersey
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has made the major headlines as they have announced the buyers of the teams in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
BCCI's secretary, Jay Shah using his social media has notified that the Indian board has garnered INR 4669.99 crore in the total bid, selling five franchises for the Women's Extravaganza.
As per the BCCI announcement, Reliance-owned Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd., Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd., JSW-GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd. - who own Delhi in IPL, Adani Sportsline Pvt. Ltd. and Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd. will be the owners of the respective WPL teams.
Earlier in the day, BCCI held the bids for the WPL franchise in Mumbai, where the owners bought the Ahmedabad team owned by the Adani group spent the most, i.e. INR 1289 crore. The next on the list is Mumbai who spurred INR 912.99 crore, followed by Bangaloreโs INR 901 crore, Delhiโs INR 810 crore and Lucknowโs INR 757 crore.
RCB's Head and Vice President showed his excitement and said:
"We are thrilled to strengthen our journey in cricket by an addition of womenโs team. Womenโs cricket has shown massive growth in the past few years, and it has promising potential for growth in India."
Nita Ambani, co-owner of IPL's Mumbai Indians, commented after acquiring a franchise in WPL, citing it as a historic moment for Indian cricket.
"This is a historic moment for Indian cricket, and we are delighted to be a part of it. India's women cricketers have always made the nation proud in the global sporting arena - be it the World Cup, Asian Cup or the recent Commonwealth Games. This new Women's League will once again shine a global spotlight on the talent, power, and potential of our girls," Nita Ambani stated.
MI's co-owner, Akash Ambani also shared his opinion on the Mumbai team and the initiated taken by the BCCI.
"I'm sure our Women's MI team will take the Mumbai Indians brand of fearless and entertaining cricket to a new level altogether. As we bring the MI experience and best practices into the women's game, we look forward to seeing our women's team excel and inspire future generations of female athletes," Akash Ambani mentioned.
No firm date has been announced by the BCCI, but the auction is expected to be held in the first week of February. The BCCI has already concluded the player-registration process as a first step towards conducting the auction.
Earlier in the month, BCCI bagged a whopping deal of INR 951 crores, when Viacom got the media rights for the next 5 years, i.e. from 2023 to 2027, for the Women's Premier League.
The Indian board has also named Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the five venues for the inaugural WPL.
This is a developing story, more updates will be added...
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