New Delhi: Preparations for the first edition of the Women’s Premier League are in full swing and all eyes will be on the 13 February auction. As was reported earlier, the auction will be held at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai this month.
Around 1,000 cricketers have signed up for the auction but only 100-120 will end up getting picked as there are only five teams participating in the inaugural edition. Last year, 1,214 players had signed up for the mega IPL auction and it was pruned to 600. Out of the 600, 278 players were taken by the ten teams which participated in the two-day mega auction.
“Lot of interest has been seen and as many as 1000 cricketers have signed up for the WPL auction. Very healthy participation from both Indian and international players,” a source close to developments told News18 Cricketnext.
There was not much time for the teams to get their auction strategies rolling as the five team owners were decided only on 25 January. While there has been no official communication from BCCI regarding the auction date, teams are preparing for the 11-13 February window.
“No official communication yet but we are prepping in full swing for the 11 February – 13 February window. Makes sense too because the ILT20 and SA20 will be in their final stages before that and most WPL teams, who have presence there, will find it hard to juggle the two, some even three,” a team official of the new WPL team told News18 Cricketnext.
Invitation for title sponsorship
The BCCI has also invited bids for title sponsorship for the WPL from 2023-2027.
“The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process including eligibility requirements, process for submissions of bids, rights and obligations of the title sponsor, etc. are contained in the ‘Request for Proposal’ (“RFP”) which will be made available on receipt of payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 1,00,000 (Indian Rupees One Lakh Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax. The procedure to procure the RFP documents is enlisted in Annexure A to this notice. The RFP will be available for purchase till 9 February, 2023.”
“Interested parties are requested to email the details of payment made for the purchase of the RFP to [email protected], as per the procedure laid down in Annexure A. It is clarified that the RFP documents shall be shared only upon the confirmation of payment of the non-refundable RFP fee,” the BCCI release on 28 January stated.
What we know so far
Former India captain Mithali Raj will be joining Adani Group-owned Gujarat Giants as the mentor and her former teammate Jhulan Goswami will be with the Mumbai unit as bowling coach and mentor.
The five participating teams are owned by:
Adani Sportsline Pvt. Ltd: Gujarat Giants (Ahmedabad)
Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd (MI): Mumbai Indians
Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd (RCB): Bangalore
JSW GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd (DC): Delhi
Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd: Lucknow Warriors (Lucknow)
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