Adani group make biggest bid to bag WPL team

The largest offer for a team in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which is the official name for the competition coined by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has been made by The Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd, Gautam Adani's sports arm. Adani spent INR 1289 Crore to purchase the Ahmedabad franchise after nearly acquiring an IPL club in the past.

The four other clubs with the highest bids—Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, and Capri Global—will own WPL franchises as a result. The five teams will be situated in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Lucknow and will be owned by three current and two new corporate organisations.

The BCCI earned more than INR 4600 crores (4669.99 crore) at the conclusion of the WPL team auction, which it will receive over a ten-year period. The BCCI previously sold Viacom 18 the media rights for INR 951 crore, or INR 7.09 crore per match for the years 2023 to 2027. The WPL is presently the second-largest cricket league in the world, behind only the IPL, after accounting for the combined sale of the franchises and broadcast rights. After the WNBA and the Women's Super League in the UK, it is also one of the richest women's leagues in the world.

With the second-highest bid of the day of INR 912 crore, Mukesh Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL, managed to keep the Mumbai team in the WPL. The Bangalore side was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 901 crore, one of the eight original IPL franchises owned by UK-based Diageo.

While Delhi Capitals, a team owned by the JSW and GMR groups, managed to secure the Delhi franchise for INR 810 crore, Lucknow's franchise was purchased by Capri Global, a multinational company with a variety of business interests and owner of Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates.

When the five new franchises were announced, Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, remarked, "Today is another big day for women's cricket after the successful sale of the WPL media rights and pay equity between men and women cricketers." The closed auction procedure, which was recorded on camera and signed by the participants, featured participation from sixteen corporate entities, including seven IPL teams.

According to IPL Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, "If you compute on the basis of multiple and take inflation into consideration, the sum of the men's IPL back in 2008 was lower than this." "Based on it, the valuation is more than that. It portends good for Indian women's cricket. The BCCI will ensure that the WPL improves to the same standard as the IPL."

The BCCI has also confirmed a Cricbuzz claim that five international players will be permitted in the playing XI of the league, which is tentatively slated from March 4 to 26 (four foreigners and one Associate country player). Mumbai might host it, but Dhumal said it has not yet been decided. The logistical convenience would be taken into consideration when deciding whether to hold the tournament in two or one city, according to the IPL chairman.

Apart from the five winners, the other 11 participants in the bidding were 369 Slingshot Sports Venture Ltd, Amrit Lila Enterprise Pvt Ltd, APL Sports Pvt Ltd, KPL Dream Cricket Pvt Ltd, Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd, Oam Industries Ltd (Haldiram), Royal Multisport Pvt Ltd, Shriram Value Service Ltd, Sun TV Network Ltd, Torrent Investment Pvt Ltd and Yadu International Ltd.

Source:- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/125295/adani-group-make-biggest-bid-to-bag-wipl-team