After hosting the successful auction for WPL franchise ownership, the BCCI is set to host the first-ever player auction for the league. The auction is supposed to be held on February 10, 2023, in Bengaluru. However, the official announcements are yet to be made. Besides Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata have been shortlisted for hosting the Women’s Premiere League’s 2023 auction.
In the meantime, the player registration deadline for the WPL 2023 auction ended on January 26 at 5 PM. The BCCI won’t be continuing with the draft procedure as it was decided previously but the Indian cricket board has decided to continue with the IPL-style player auction. The players will have a reserve base price of 50, 40, and 30 lakhs. For the uncapped players, the base price will start at INR 10 lakhs and 20 lakhs.
Each franchise will have to pick a squad of 15-18 players with a purse value of INR 12 crores. The Playin 11 can have a maximum of five overseas players. From the overseas players, one must be from the associate nation. Players who didn’t get chosen but are “Registered Available Player” can feature as a replacement player.
The first season of the Women’s Premiere League will begin in the first week of March. The schedule for this league will be finalised by the next week as the IPL governing council meeting takes place. The matches will be held approximately between 4-24 as has been previously agreed upon. Unlike IPL, this league will be played in Mumbai in three stadiums. The venues are yet to be decided.
Three IPL teams and two new entrants have bought the WPL franchises. The Adani Group has bought the Ahmedabad franchise and Capri Global bought the Lucknow franchise. Mukesh Ambani’s Indiawin Sports Private Limited bagged the Mumbai team, JSW GMR Cricket Private Limited got Delhi and Royal Challengers Bangalore bought the Bengaluru franchise.
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