Approximately six Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have publicly shown interest in participating in the Women’s IPL, although at least three of them have declined. There are ten additional organisations and seven current IPL teams competing for the five WIPL franchises.
Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, and Royal Challengers Bangalore all turned up with bid paperwork on the day of the technical bidding for the WIPL. However, a few well-known teams, such Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, have chosen not to lodge a claim for a WIPL team. Also rumoured to have abstained were the Lucknow Super Giants.
While a Gujarat Titans spokesman said the company’s focus is on the men’s team, the defending IPL champions, a Chennai Super Kings official acknowledged the choice and claimed it was a smart business move. The franchise is controlled by the US-based private equity firm CVC Capital. LSG representatives did not reply to messages sent on this page.
According to a promoter for the Delhi Capitals, the team’s two owners would act as its representatives. The Capitals franchise, which is owned by the GMR and JSW firms, will make a combined offer even though both organisations bought the ITT individually. GMR Sports may be the representation for the two partners.
There was no instant information on who of the non-IPL companies had submitted documents, although the Adani Group and Torrent Pharma, two business giants from Ahmedabad who had also considered joining the IPL, had publicly indicated interest. Along with the Sriram Group of Chennai and Haldiram, other competitors include Accord Distillers, Oam Industries, Group On, JK Cement, and Apollo Tyres.
The Sharjah Warriors’ ILT20 owners, Capri Global, have also enrolled in the competition. The Invitation To Tender (ITT) document was accepted by more than 20 non-IPL organisations, including Uday Kotak, Chettinad Cement, and Nilgiri.
Cricbuzz had claimed that Monday, January 23, was the deadline for submitting the credentials documents. The financial bidding will take place on Wednesday, and those who satisfy the requirements established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be permitted to participate. The condition requiring a net worth of Rs. 1000 crore is essential.
The vetting procedure was in progress when this article was published. The BCCI has told the parties that the evaluation process will last one more day and that by Tuesday afternoon, it will reveal the total number of parties eligible to participate in the financial bidding. The five WIPL franchises will be revealed on Wednesday, along with the financial bidding.
Given that the WIPL is viewed as a by-product of the IPL, a very high degree of interest in it was always anticipated. After the media rights were sold for a price that was far greater than expected (Rs 951 crores for five years), it must have drawn even more interest from the Indian corporations.
The BCCI intends to conduct the inaugural tournament exclusively in Mumbai in March.
