The History of Woman Premier League (WPL)

The History of Woman Premier League (WPL)

The History of Women Premier League (WPL) is a women’s Twenty20 cricket franchise league in India. It is owned and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The first season was played in March 2023 and saw Mumbai Indians win the first title. Matches were played in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, with five franchises participating.

The second season is in February and March 2024, with matches played in Bangalore and Delhi.

The History of Woman Premier League (WPL)

The first major women’s Twenty20 competition in India was the Women’s T20 Challenge. This started as a one match tournament in 2018, and was expanded to a 3 team, 3 match competition held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

In February 2022, then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced plans to establish a women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the major men’s Twenty20 franchise cricket competition in India, replacing the Women’s T20 Challenge. By August plans were more advanced and in October the BCCI announced that they were considering a 5 team tournament which would take place in March 2023. This league was simply known as the Women’s Indian Premier League, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the BCCI officially named it the Women’s Premier League.

On 28 January 2023, the BCCI invited bids for the league’s title sponsorship rights until 2027. Tata Group won the bid for an undisclosed amount. Mumbai Indians were the inaugural winners of the tournament, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.

The History of Woman Premier League (WPL) :- Organisation 

The league’s structure is simply based on the structure of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Initially there are 5 teams, with sides playing against each other in a double round robin format, and the three teams finishing with the most points entering the playoff stages of the competition. The Board plans to increase the number of matches and franchises in future seasons if the league is a success.

The first season of the league took place from 4 March to 26 March 2023, and featured 22 matches, all held at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Tickets were made available free to women during the first season.

The History of Woman Premier League (WPL) :- Franchises 

Investors brought the initial franchise rights in January 2023 through a closed bidding process, raising a total of ₹4,669 crore .

A number of companies responded to the sale of franchise rights which were sold for 5 years, from 2023 to 2027. Adani Group won the rights to the Ahmedabad franchise for ₹1,289 crore, Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd, part of Reliance Industries, won the Mumbai franchise for ₹912.99 crore, GMR-JSW Cricket Pvt Ltd won the Delhi franchise for ₹810 crore, Capri Global holdings won the Lucknow franchise for ₹757 crore, and Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of alcohol manufacturing company Diageo, won the Bangalore franchise for ₹901 crore.

According to Jack Genovese of Ampere Analytics, a media research firm, the league is the world’s second highest valued women’s sports league just behind the Women’s National Basketball Association in the United States.

Three of the five franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, also have teams in the Indian Premier League.

The History of Woman Premier League (WPL) :- Tournament seasons and results 

Number of titles 

Finals winning 

Team’s performances 

Here is WPL 2 Season Schedule

Excitement levels 🔛 for #TATAWPL Season 2 🤩

Which fixture are you looking forward to the most? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/cM76wDwSte

— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) January 24, 2024