BCCI earns Rs 4669.99 crore from sale of five Women's Premier League teams
3 IPL franchisees among owners
Mumbai, Jan 25: The BCCI on Wednesday earned Rs 4669.99 crore from the sale of five teams in the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) with Adani Sportsline shelling out a massive Rs 1289 crore for the Ahmedabad side, which emerged as the most expensive franchise.
IPL team owners Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals made successful bids of Rs 912.99 crore, Rs 901 crore and Rs 810 crore, respectively, to enter the WPL.
Capri Global Holdings got the Lucknow franchise for Rs 757 crore.
"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in total bid," BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.
Earlier this month, the BCCI sold the media rights of the Women's Premier League to Viacom18 for Rs 951 crore, getting a Rs 7.09 crore per match value for five years. Without a ball being bowled, the WPL has become the second biggest T20 league in the world after the IPL.
Adani Group, which had failed to buy an IPL team when the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises were up for sale in 2021, has made its official entry into Indian cricket by securing a women's team for WPL. Adani Group announced that the team will be named the Gujarat Giants.
Many were already calling the league Women's IPL but the BCCI secretary revealed the name on Wednesday.
"The BCCI has named the league - Women's Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin.
"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008. This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity.
"The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder," Shah said in a series of tweets.
The eight franchisees in the men's IPL were sold for USD 723.59 million before the maiden edition in 2008.
"If you recall, the bids for men's IPL back in 2008 was lower than this if you calculate on the basis of multiple and factor in the inflation, the valuation is beyond the men's IPL at that time. It augurs well for women's cricket," said IPL chairman Arun Dhumal in a media interaction.
Sitting alongside Dhumal, Shah informed that the highest bids for each city-based franchise ended up being the winning one.
"There was a vast difference between bids," he said.
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders made unsuccessful bids for Rs 180 crore and Rs 666 crore for the Jaipur and Kolkata franchise respectively.
The WPL player auction will take place next month with the first edition to be played in March.
The BCCI on Monday had cleared 17 technical bids for the closed door bidding that was held in a five star hotel here on Wednesday.
As many as seven IPL franchises were in the race and the ones to miss out were Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Among the outsiders, multinational sweets and snacks company Haldiram's too had submitted its bid on Monday. The BCCI had not set any base price for the sale of teams.
A total of 22 games will be played in the inaugural season with the top-ranked team in the league stage qualifying directly for the final. The second and third-placed teams will battle out for a place in the title clash.
Each team will have a purse of Rs 12 crore at the players' auction next month and will need to buy a minimum of 15 players and maximum of 18. Up to five overseas players, including one from associate, will be allowed in the playing XI.
"This new Women's League will once again shine a global spotlight on the talent, power, and potential of our girls. I'm sure our Women's MI team will take the Mumbai Indians brand of fearless and entertaining cricket to a new level altogether," said Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani.
The Diageo-owned RCB franchise said it was patiently waiting to become part of women's cricket.
"At the core of Diageo, is the value of gender inclusivity that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense and this enterprise champions us to welcome and celebrate women's cricket for who they are and the value they bring in the journey of this sport, cricket.
"Therefore, it is a fitting asset in the right direction for the Diageo India-owned franchise.
"We held back all our investments in overseas teams to own a team that
aligns with this philosophy and core value, and it gives us immense pleasure to have marked this accomplishment positively," said RCB chairman Prathmesh Mishra in a statement.
Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in total bid. This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) January 25, 2023
way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity. The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder.
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) January 25, 2023
FIVE TEAMS
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 25, 2023
FIVE VENUES 🏟️
Welcome to the Women's Premier League 🙌🙌#WPL pic.twitter.com/29MNGEDDXe
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Riyan Parag likely to be fined 25 percent of match fees for vaping inside dressing room
New Delhi (PTI): Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag is set to be fined 25 per cent of his match fee for bringing the game into "disrepute" after being caught vaping on camera during the IPL game against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur.
Parag's actions during the Royals' chase on Tuesday night drew condemnation on social media.
PTI has learned that on field umpires Tanmay Srivastava and Nitin Menon had not reported the matter to match referee Amit Sharma right after the game. They only did that after seeing visual proof and Sharma found Parag guilty for a code of conduct breach as per the IPL guidelines.
The Level 1 offences carries 25 per cent deduction from match fees and one demerit point.
"He is set to be fined a portion of his match fees and a demerit point for a Level 1 offence," said an IPL source.
The Indian government had banned e-cigarettes back in 2019, prohibiting their production, sale and distribution. As per the law, the offender faces imprisonment up to one year and/or a Rs one lakh fine for a first time offence.
"Article 2.21 of IPL Code of Conduct is intended to cover all types of conduct that bring the game into disrepute and which is not specifically and adequately covered by the specific offences set out elsewhere in this Code of Conduct, including Article 2.20," the IPL Code of Conduct states.
"By way of example, Article 2.21 may (depending upon the seriousness and context of the breach) prohibit, without limitation, the following: (a) public acts of misconduct; (b) unruly public behaviour; and (c) inappropriate comments which are detrimental to the interests of the game.
"When assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered.
"Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 Offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 Offence)."
Since it is a Level 1 offence there was no need for a hearing.
Parag, who has not had the best of times with the bat this IPL, was seen inhaling an e-cigarette, also known as vaping, in the dressing room during the live broadcast of their game against Punjab Kings. Royals won the game to end Kings' unbeaten run in the tournament.
This is not the first controversy to hit the Royals this season. Earlier this month, team manager Romi Bhinder was fined Rs one lakh for breaching PMOA protocol after being found using his phone in the dugout.
IPL and BCCI officials involved in the conduct of the IPL termed it as a careless act in the age of social media and prying TV cameras.
Royals next host Delhi Capitals at home on Friday night.
