The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most popular and lucrative cricket leagues in the world. Recently, the IPL announced the addition of four new teams, including two women’s teams. The auction for the women’s teams took place on January 31, 2021 and was won by the Adani Group, who secured the Ahmedabad team with the highest bid of Rs 1,289 crore.
The Adani Group, a conglomerate of companies with interests in infrastructure, agribusiness and energy, was one of the several bidders for the women’s IPL team. The company was able to secure the Ahmedabad team with a top bid of Rs 1,289 crore, which is approximately $175 million. The Adani Group’s bid was the highest among the bidders and was more than twice the reserve price set by the IPL.
The addition of the women’s teams in the IPL is a significant step towards gender equality in the sport. The women’s IPL teams will have the same facilities and resources as the men’s teams and will be treated as equals in all aspects. This will provide a platform for women cricketers to showcase their talents and skills on the same stage as their male counterparts.
Jay Shah, BCCI secretary, said that the total bids received from the winners were worth Rs 4,669.99 crore (USD 572.78 million approx). The owners of the men’s IPL clubs Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as the Adani Group and Capri Global, have won bids to buy the five women’s IPL teams in an auction ahead of the first season, which begins in March this year. The competition will be called as the Women’s Premier League (WPL), with teams situated in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.
The Ahmedabad team was sold for the most money: INR 1289 crore (USD 158 million approximately), followed by Mumbai (INR 912.99 crore/USD 111 million approximately), Bengaluru (INR 901 crore/USD 110 million approximately), Delhi (INR 810 crore/USD 99.35 million approximately), and Lucknow (INR 757 crore/USD 92.85 million approximately).
The BCCI recently received a large money from the sale of the women’s IPL media rights, which were purchased by Viacom 18 for INR 951 crore (about USD 116.7 million) for a five-year period between 2023 and 2027. The women’s IPL will share 80% of the media rights money to the five clubs in the first five years under the revenue-sharing model. As witnessed in the men’s IPL, this is crucial in offsetting a considerable portion of the clubs’ operational expenditures.