The Women’s Indian Premier League (W IPL 2023) has attracted interest from eight IPL franchises, as well as 75 families, including the Glazer family that owns English football club Manchester United, and the JK Cement Group. They will be bidding for ownership of five WIPL teams.
The BCCI will announce the five team owners on January 25. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans are in the race. The status of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Supergiants is not known.
Kanpur-based JK Cement Limited is also in the fray to buy the team. The group has a long association with cricket. Dr. Nidhipati Singhania, Vice Chairman of JK Cement Limited, is currently the President of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. BCCI has released a list of 10 cities for women’s IPL teams, out of which five cities will be selected.
Bid will be valid for 10 years –
No base price has been kept for the bids of the women’s IPL teams. However, at the same time, companies or firms can bid, whose audited value as on 31 March 2022 is at least Rs 1000 crore. This bid will be valid for 10 years (2023 to 2032).
The BCCI along with Argus Partners, a law firm assisting the board, will evaluate the bids. All bidders will also be required to submit separate eligibility documents by January 23, before submitting their bids.
Based on the information of ITT, there will be 22-22 matches in the first three seasons (2023-25). In the league stage of the Women’s IPL, each team will play each other twice (20 matches in total) and the table toppers will directly qualify for the finals. The second and third placed teams in the league will play eliminators to become the second team to play the final.
Manchester United also showed interest in buying the team –
The owners of Manchester United have shown interest in buying a team in the women’s IPL. He had also bid for two new IPL teams. Desert Vipers owner Avram Glazer’s representative at ILT-20 confirmed that the Glazer family is serious about buying a team in the women’s IPL.
Phil Oliver, CEO of Desert Vipers, said, “Having bought a team in the ILT20, it was only natural to look for cricketing opportunities elsewhere. I can’t give more details, but I would definitely say that we are exploring all possibilities including women’s IPL. We are interested in the Indian market.” The Glazer family had bid Rs 4125.65 crore for the Lucknow team and Rs 4023.99 crore for the Ahmedabad team in the IPL.