| Women's Premier League | |
| Country: | India |
| Administrator: | Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) |
| Headquarters: | Cricket Centre, Churchgate, Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Cricket Format: | Twenty20 cricket |
| First: | 2023 |
| Last: | 2024 |
| Next: | 2025 |
| Tournament Format: | Double round-robin and playoffs (knock-out stage) |
| Participants: | 5 |
| Champions: | Royal Challengers Bangalore (1st title) |
| Most Runs: | Meg Lanning (Delhi Capitals) (676) |
| Most Wickets: | Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz) (27) |
| Tv: | |
| Most Successful: | Mumbai Indians Royal Challengers Bangalore (1 title each) |
The Women's Premier League (WPL), also known as the TATA WPL for sponsorship reasons, is a women's Twenty20 cricket franchise league in India, owned and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[1] [2]
The first season, played in March 2023, saw the Mumbai Indians winning the inaugural title. Matches took place in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, with five franchises participating.[3] [4]
The second season, conducted in February and March 2024, resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore winning the title. Matches were hosted in Bengaluru and Delhi.
| Season | Winners | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mumbai Indians | |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
The first major women's Twenty20 competition in India was the Women's T20 Challenge. This started as a single-match tournament in 2018, and was expanded to a three-team, three-match competition held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
In February 2022, then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced plans to establish a women's version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the major men's Twenty20 franchise cricket competition in India, replacing the Women's T20 Challenge.[5] By August plans were more advanced[6] [7] and in October the BCCI announced that they were considering a five-team tournament which would take place in March 2023.[8] [9] This league was informally known as the Women's Indian Premier League; BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the BCCI officially named it the Women's Premier League.[1] [10]
On 28 January 2023, the BCCI invited bids for the league's title sponsorship rights until 2027.[11] Tata Group won the bid for an undisclosed amount.[12] Mumbai Indians were the inaugural winners of the tournament, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.[13]
The league's structure is based on the structure of the IPL.[14] [15] [16]
Initially there are five teams, with sides playing against each other in a double round robin format, and the three teams finishing with the most points entering the playoff stages of the competition.[17] [18] The Board plans to increase the number of matches and franchises in future seasons if the league is a success.[19]
The first season of the league took place from 4 March to 26 March 2023, and featured 22 matches, all held at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.[19] [20] Tickets were made available free to women during the first season.[21]
The league's mascot, Shakti, is a tigress wearing a sky blue cricket uniform.[22]
As of the 2024 season, the league has five teams based in cities across India.
| Team | City | Home ground | Debut | Captain | Head coach | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi Capitals | New Delhi, Delhi | Arun Jaitley Stadium | text-align:center; | 2023 | Meg Lanning | Jonathan Batty | ||
| Gujarat Giants | Ahmedabad, Gujarat | Narendra Modi Stadium | text-align:center; | 2023 | Beth Mooney | Michael Klinger | ||
| Mumbai Indians | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Wankhede Stadium | text-align:center; | 2023 | Harmanpreet Kaur | Charlotte Edwards | ||
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Bangalore, Karnataka | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | text-align:center; | 2023 | Smriti Mandhana | Luke Williams | ||
| UP Warriorz | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium | text-align:center; | 2023 | Alyssa Healy | Jon Lewis | ||
| Season | Winner | Winning margin | Runner-up | Final venue | Player of the match | Player of the season | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mumbai Indians 134/3 (19.3 overs) | Indians won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Delhi Capitals 131/9 (20 overs) | Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai | Nat Sciver-Brunt (MI) | Hayley Matthews (MI) | |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bangalore 115/2 (19.3 overs) | Royal Challengers won by 8 wickets Scorecard | Delhi Capitals 113 (18.3 overs) | Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, New Delhi | Sophie Molineux (RCB) | Deepti Sharma (UPW) |
| Season (No. of teams) | 2023 (5) | 2024 (5) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Indians | C | 3rd | |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 4th | C | |
| RU | RU | ||
| UP Warriorz | 3rd | 4th | |
| Gujarat Giants | 5th | 5th |
| Mumbai Indians | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Delhi Capitals | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | |
| UP Warriorz | 0 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Gujarat Giants | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
A summary of the most notable statistical records associated with the tournament is provided below:
The BCCI intends to distribute 80% of the profits from the competition among the franchise owners during the first five years. For the next five seasons, 60% of the profits will be shared, and from seasons 11 to 15, 50% of the profits will be distributed. Additionally, 80% of the revenue from the central licensing rights for the competition will be shared with the franchises. Franchises will also generate revenue through merchandise, ticket sales and advertising.[19] [24]
The first auction to purchase players for each franchise was held on 13 February 2023 at Mumbai.[25] [26] Around 1,500 players registered their names.[27] [28] Each franchise had to spend and had to purchase between 15 and 18 players, six of whom could be overseas players.[14] [25]
The base price of an uncapped player at the first auction was between and . For capped players it was between and .[29] In future seasons the purse size for each franchise will be increased by each year.[19]
In the first auction a total of was spent to purchase 87 players. Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player purchased in the initial auction; she signed for Royal Challengers Bangalore for and was appointed as the team's captain.[30]
In January 2023, Viacom18, announced it had acquired the global media rights for TV and digital broadcasts for the tournament. The contract will run for five years and was worth .[31] The initial season of the league is broadcasting in India on the Sports18 TV channel and the JioCinema app, both of which are owned by Viacom18.[32]
The first season of the competition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports,[33] in Australia by Fox Sports Australia, in the United States and Canada by Willow TV and in South Africa by SuperSports.[34] In New Zealand it is aired by Sky Sport, in Malaysia and Hong Kong by Astro Cricket while in mainland China by Star Sports.