The BCCI announced the five cities that will have Women’s Premier League teams ahead of the inaugural season, which is expected to kick off in the first week of March — here’s all you need to know about the WPL 2023, including the city names and owners.

A total of 17 entities put in their bids for five WPL teams, with the winners being determined through a closed-bid process. According to reports, seven IPL team owners were interested in purchasing stakes in the women’s version. The owners of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals all submitted bids. In the end, three IPL teams won bids to purchase a women’s team – Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals.

Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the two other cities that will have teams. Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd and Capri Global Holdings Pvt Ltd were the successful bidders.

WPL 2023: Confirmed cities for the Women’s Premier League

The BCCI announced the successful bidders for the WPL, with the five franchises putting in a combined bid evaluation of INR 4,669.99 crore. The most expensive team was Ahmedabad, bought by the Adani Sportsline Group for INR 1,289 crores. Mumbai, bought by the owners of MI – Indiawin Sports – was bought for INR 912.99 crores. Bangalore, bought by Royal Challengers Group, also the owners of the IPL team RCB – was bought for INR 901 crores.

Delhi was bought by the owners of the IPL team Delhi Capitals, the JSW-GMR Cricket Group, for INR 810 crores, while Capri Global Holdings won the successful bid for Lucknow with a bid of INR 757 crores.

The five winning bids (in INR) are:

Adani Group (Ahmedabad): 1,289 cr
MI (Mumbai): 912 cr
RCB (Bangalore): 901 cr
JSW (Delhi): 810 cr
Capri Globals (Lucknow): 757 cr

Auctions and player registrations for the WPL

The player registrations for the WPL close at 5 pm IST on January 26. Players can set themselves a base price, or “reserve price” themselves. The bracket for capped players is INR 30 lakh, INR 40 lakh and INR 50 lakh, while the base price of the uncapped players are INR 10 lakh and INR 20 lakhs.

An auction is expected to be held in the first week of February. The five teams will get a purse of INR 12 crore each for the first season.

Date and venue for the WPL

An official announcement is yet to be made, but reports suggest the edition could begin in the first week of March, with all games being held in one city. Mumbai appears to be the frontrunner.

Broadcast rights

Viacom18 bought the media rights for the WPL for INR 951 crore for the first five years of the league (2023-27), making it one of the most valued women’s leagues in the sports world globally. The winning amount means that each match of the WPL will have a value of INR 7.09 crore.