Women's Premier League (cricket)

The Women's Premier League (WPL), also known as the TATA WPL for sponsorship reasons, is a women's Twenty20 cricket franchise league in India, owned and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The first season, played in March 2023, saw the Mumbai Indians winning the inaugural title. Matches took place in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, with five franchises participating.

The second season, conducted in February and March 2024, resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore winning the title. Matches were hosted in Bengaluru and Delhi.

History
The first major women's Twenty20 competition in India was the Women's T20 Challenge. This started as a single-match tournament in 2018, and was expanded to a three-team, three-match competition held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

In February 2022, then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced plans to establish a women's version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the major men's Twenty20 franchise cricket competition in India, replacing the Women's T20 Challenge. By August plans were more advanced and in October the BCCI announced that they were considering a five-team tournament which would take place in March 2023. This league was informally known as the Women's Indian Premier League; BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the BCCI officially named it the Women's Premier League.

On 28 January 2023, the BCCI invited bids for the league's title sponsorship rights until 2027. Tata Group won the bid for an undisclosed amount. Mumbai Indians were the inaugural winners of the tournament, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.

Organisation
The league's structure is based on the structure of the IPL.

Initially there are five teams, with sides playing against each other in a double round robin format, and the three teams finishing with the most points entering the playoff stages of the competition. The Board plans to increase the number of matches and franchises in future seasons if the league is a success.

The first season of the league took place from 4 March to 26 March 2023, and featured 22 matches, all held at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Tickets were made available free to women during the first season.

The league's mascot, Shakti, is a tigress wearing a sky blue cricket uniform.

Teams
As of the 2024 season, the league has five teams based in cities across India.

Teams' performances

 * C: Champions
 * RU: Runner-up
 * 3rd: Team that lost in the Eliminator.

Records and statistics
A summary of the most notable statistical records associated with the tournament is provided below:
 * Source: ESPNcricinfo

Financial background
The BCCI intends to distribute 80% of the profits from the competition among the franchise owners during the first five years. For the next five seasons, 60% of the profits will be shared, and from seasons 11 to 15, 50% of the profits will be distributed. Additionally, 80% of the revenue from the central licensing rights for the competition will be shared with the franchises. Franchises will also generate revenue through merchandise, ticket sales and advertising.

Player auction
The first auction to purchase players for each franchise was held on 13 February 2023 at Mumbai. Around 1,500 players registered their names. Each franchise had inr 120000000 to spend and had to purchase between 15 and 18 players, six of whom could be overseas players.

The base price of an uncapped player at the first auction was between inr 1000000 and inr 2000000. For capped players it was between inr 3000000 and inr 5000000. In future seasons the purse size for each franchise will be increased by inr 15000000 each year.

In the first auction a total of was spent to purchase 87 players. Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player purchased in the initial auction; she signed for Royal Challengers Bangalore for and was appointed as the team's captain.

Broadcasting
In January 2023, Viacom18, announced it had acquired the global media rights for TV and digital broadcasts for the tournament. The contract will run for five years and was worth inr 9510000000. The initial season of the league is broadcasting in India on the Sports18 TV channel and the JioCinema app, both of which are owned by Viacom18.

The first season of the competition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports, in Australia by Fox Sports Australia, in the United States and Canada by Willow TV and in South Africa by SuperSports. In New Zealand it is aired by Sky Sport, in Malaysia and Hong Kong by Astro Cricket while in mainland China by Star Sports.