The buzz around the inaugural edition of the Women Premier League is all set to reach the next level with the WPL Auction 2023.
New Delhi: The buzz around the inaugural edition of the Women Premier League (WPL) is all set to reach the next level with the auction on Monday in Mumbai. Five franchises will take part in the bidding and would try to put together a stacked squad prior to the inaugural WPL.
The five teams that would compete in the first-ever season of WPL are Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants. The WPL is set to be one of the biggest franchise cricket leagues and rival even the league of men’s cricket.
! #TeamIndia captain @ImRo45 along with @ashwinravi99 & @DineshKarthik share their thoughts ahead of the #WPLAuction tomorrow @wplt20 pic.twitter.com/2WhM8PMftl
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 12, 2023
Ever since the inception of the IPL in 2008, the league has grown in stature financially as well as in unearthing talent from around the world. India men’s captain Rohit Sharma feels the same calling WPL a ‘massive stage’.
“It has certainly opened a lot of avenues for a lot of cricketers to showcase their talent, to showcase what they have because its going to be a massive stage. We have seen it with men’s league, so Women’s Premier League is going to be no different,” Rohit said in a video released by BCCI.
Not only Rohit, but his teammates Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik also appreciated the step forward and even spoke about how WPL would not only revolutionize women’s cricket but also help in developing talent.
Karthik, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore, expressed WPL will popularise women’s cricket among the young girls in the country. “Luckily for me, I was a part of another tournament in England where I could see the kind of interest the young girls had in coming and watching matches to see their heroes play.
💬 💬 “It’s going to be a game changer.”
From @ImHarmanpreet & @mandhana_smriti
to @Deepti_Sharma06 & @Danni_Wyatt – they are excited for the #WPLAuction 👏 👏ARE YOU❓@wplt20 pic.twitter.com/mM3RAJuGTP
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 12, 2023
“Now that will happen in India and that’s what you want,” added Karthik, who is currently commentating in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin stated WPL will change the landscape of women’s game.
“I think it was about time the women’s of our country got the opportunity to compete at the highest level. Clearly, our women’s team have done exceedingly well at the World Championships, the World Cups and T20 World Cups,” added the off-spinner who reached 450 Test wickets during India’s first Test against Australia.
“Over the last few years we have witnessed the Women’s T20 Challenge go ahead really well. And now that the TV rights and the franchises being sold at some incredible costs, we can only hope that landscape of the women’s game change forever,” added the Rajasthan Royals star.
Players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, and Smriti Mandhana would be in huge demand in the auction and a massive bid is expected for them. Meanwhile, the likes of Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy, and Sophie Ecclestone are a few of the overseas stars that can shake the bidding war.
