On January 25, the BCCI announced the five owners that would be owning WPL teams this season. The owners of IPL franchises Delhi Capitals (based out of Delhi), Mumbai Indians (Mumbai) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (Bengaluru) submitted winning bids for the respective cities. Adani Group, meanwhile, bagged the winning bid for the Ahmedabad franchise, with Capri Holdings placing the winning bid for the Lucknow franchise.

Following the bidding process, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the WPL auction would take place some time in the first week of February, with later confirmation that the date of the auction will be February 13.

For the auction, each team will have a purse of INR 12 crore. They will be able to sign between 15 and 18 players at the auction. Every playing XI can feature up to five overseas cricketers, provided at least one of those five is from an Associate nation. It is also being reported that the tournament will start on March 4 and culminate on March 24.

It has been announced that 409 players will go under the hammer, with 24 players (10 from India and 14 overseas) having set their base price at the highest rank of INR 50 lakh. Those players include Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma from India, and Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Ecclestone, Sophie Devine, Deandra Dottin from overseas.

At this point, there is no clarity on whether the competition will be held in one city, or across the cities where franchises are based.

The WPL is expected to play significant role in the upliftment of women’s cricket in India as well as in the world. The WPL has taken time to come to fruition, with leagues such as The Hundred (Women’s) and the Women’s Big Bash League already a major part of the women’s cricketing calendar. However, the BCCI will hope that the WPL is an instant success, and back it to provide women’s cricket the platform and exposure it deserves.

WPL auction details: Auction purse, schedule, squad size and more

Auction date: February 13 at 2:30pm IST.

Auction purse: INR 12 crore for each franchise

Squad size: 15-18 players

*Last updated on February 7