Women's IPL broadcast rights tender to be released this week


image-lb6d7cjuHarmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana (Source: Twitter)

According to latest reports, the broadcast rights tender for the inaugural Women's Indian Premier League is likely to be released this week. 

Women's IPL is long demanded by Indian fans with the rising interest and popularity of women's cricket in the country. The successes in the 2017 ODI World Cup and 2020 T20 World Cup have already made Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma star in the last few years. 

BCCI has been organizing the Women's T20 Challenge since 2018 with three teams, witnessing the participation of top Indian as well as overseas players. However, the franchise system, addition of two extra teams and a bigger stage are a few merits of the Women's IPL. 

Earlier, the apex board set Rs 400 Crore as the base price for all five franchises. However, the latest reports suggest that BCCI has decided to do away with the base price rule. 

Furthermore, the broadcast rights as well as the franchises' tender will be carried out through a closed tender process, rather than an e-auction. With no base prices, the interested parties will have to correctly gauge the worth of every team in the Women's IPL.  The BCCI is expecting each franchise to be sold in the range of 1,000 to 1,500 Crores. 

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings have shown interest in owning a team in the Women's IPL as well. 

Each team will comprise of 18 players, with no more than six overseas players. The tentative window for the inaugural season is March 2023.  


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