Women’s Premier League could be the game-changer that Indian cricket was waiting for

The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League gets underway on March 4 and it could open up a new chapter for women’s cricket in India and abroad.

The Women’s Premier League, which will kick off with a clash between Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on March 4, is being hailed as the next big thing in women’s cricket. It is, by far, the most lucrative franchise competition in women’s sports and after several years of waiting and anticipation, it is finally set to get underway.

The Women’s Premier League will feature five different franchises - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz, and Gujarat Giants - in an almost month-long tournament.

Each team will play the other four twice; the top three will qualify for the play-off stage. The toppers make it to the final while the teams at second and third place will face off in a semifinal. The final will be played on March 26 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

The financial implications of the tournament are already proving to be noteworthy. In January, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced that the five different franchises were auctioned off for a combined fee of Rs 4,670 crore.

Moreover, they also announced that they had signed a five-year deal worth Rs 951 crore for TV rights with Viacom 18, for the soon-to-be-launched T20 league.

Even in the WPL auction held in February generated plenty of excitement. Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive purchase when RCB signed her for Rs 3.4 crore. Ashleigh Gardner and Nat Sciver became the most sought-after overseas purchases and fetched an amount of Rs 3.2 crore each.

Only a couple of years ago, these eye-watering numbers seemed almost impossible in the women’s game. However, they are starting to become a reality and what’s even more important is that it is likely to grow from strength to strength with the advent of time and as more and more people start catching on.

Bandana Chhetri, Co-Founder of FairPlay Sports, which represents Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar, believes the WPL will have the biggest impact on cricket around the world, with a surge in sponsorships and more money pumped into the game. “Just see how the IPL has picked up. The hype around it only increases with time. I feel it is going to be the same for WPL. I cannot wait for what the coming years have in store for all of us,” she says.

Satyam Trivedi, Head, Adani Sportsline (owners of Gujarat Giants), says the inaugural edition of the WPL is a big moment in women’s cricket and will add more vibrancy to the canvas. “It’s like deja vu, what happened in 2008 ahead of men’s IPL is happening all over again,” he said. He pointed out that a lot has changed in women’s cricket over the years, which is great news for the sport. “The women’s sporting ecosystem has been gaining plenty of momentum, and engagement levels in are higher than ever before. There is keen interest among stakeholders to invest and support this journey. This is a new dawn in the sport and a much needed one at that,” he added.

Perhaps, the greatest effect that the Women’s Premier League will have is in changing the mindset and providing more idols and reference points for young girls in the country to strive towards. When Jemimah Rodrigues started honing her craft, she would be the only girl among nearly 400 boys on the ground.

Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and young batter Shafali Verma would often play with older and stronger boys since they were the only girls. As such, life is expected to come full circle for these fabulous talents who will deservedly find a greater spotlight on them with the advent of the Women’s Premier League.