Speaking to HW News budding male cricketers and their parents in a candid conversation had once shared that IPL is not just a backdoor for playing India but also a ray of hope for those who could not make the cut.
It was the summer of 2008, months after an Indian team led by an inexperienced captain who went on to become India’s greatest captain’s of all time emerged victorious in the inaugural t20 world cup. Gave birth to a new format.
Inspired by the business of sports in the USA and in a bid to bring it to cricket in India Lalit Modi introduced the Indian Premier League. From cheerleaders, and merchandise to superstars the IPL had all the ingredients to become a blockbuster which it could not in fact it was beyond expectations and then there was no going back.
From brand endorsements to rising stars the IPL became a medium for all. Reports suggest Television sales surge up to 10 to 15% during the 3-month cricket season.
With less than 4 days before International Women’s day a big gift for Women cricketers as world cricket is all set to witness the much-awaited Women’s IPL starting today (Mumbai Indians VS Gujarat Giants) at DY Patil stadium till 26th March at 7:30 with 5 teams (Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers BangaloreBangalore, UP Warriorz.)
With much fanfare, the tournament will witness a star-studded opening ceremony with celebrities like Kriti Sanon, Kaira Advani, and others at 5:30 PM. Maharashtra DCM Devendra Fadnavis is also expected.
After a successful auction (Around 1,500 players registered their names) the players will now script a new chapter in the book of Women’s cricket.
Why Women Premier League Now?
With India’s decent performance in the last 2 world cups, 2017 (Runners Up) and 2022 (Qualifiers), and playing a nail bitter in the t20 WC (semi-finals lost) and winning the under 19 world cup (t20 format) it will be safe to say that the format is upward in the curve and a full-fledged WPL will be a short in the arm. Besides playing with international cricketers and sharing the same dressing room a lot of strategies from their side would come to this side, however, it remains to be a double-edged sword.
Successful Women’s T20 Challenge:
Although the tournament is seen as a first however a similar experiment with the name of Women’s t20 challenge has been played from 2018 to 2022 with enough crowd and decent viewership. The matches were played during the break days of playoffs of the Mens IPL.
Positive Crowd Response:
Most matches are to be played in Mumbai’s Brebourne stadium which saw a sea of people in the December 2022 India -Australia T20 series where there were treated to entertaining innings by Delhi Capitals player Jemiah Rodrigues. Besides, The match between India and Pakistan at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on February 12 2023 registered a cumulative reach of 28 million on Star Sports. The cost for the ticket starts from 100 RS
New Heroes
From Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant to Hardik Pandya all first proved their mettle in the IPL and now have cemented their place in the National team. Many Women cricketers like Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, and Harmanpreet Kaur even after successive stellar performances could hardly prove to be inspirational figures for many. HW News While speaking to budding woman cricketers 7 out of 10 named male cricketers as their idols.
With higher viewership and more games, every game is likely to bring in quality performances and bring in the best out of them in the competitive environment. Another important factor is fantasy cricket has captured a huge market in the past 5 years and when someone invests money be it a mere 25-30 rupees the involvement of the viewer is 2x. Take for example people would try and understand player performances to decide which player to select for their dream teams.
More Brand Endrossements = More Money = More Players Participating
Speaking to HW News budding male cricketers and their parents in a candid conversation had once shared that IPL is not just a backdoor for playing India but also a ray of hope for those who could not make the cut.
Playing WPL will bring in brand affiliations for most cricketers (at least on social media) which will help them build a robust financial base and help focus on the game rather than meeting their needs. Currently, 15+ brands are associated with the league, with Tata being the title sponsor.
WPL 2023: Full Squads Of All Teams
Here are the squads for all 5 teams in WPL 2023:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Indrani Roy, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja, Asha Shobhana, Erin Burns, Heather Knight, Dane van Niekerk, Preeti Bose, Poonam Khemnar, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Sahana Pawar.
Mumbai Indians
Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Heather Graham, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Dhara Gujjar, Saika Ishaque, Hayley Matthews, Chloe Tryon, Priyanka Bala, Humairaa Kaazi, Neelam Bisht, Jintamani Kalita, Sonam Yadav.
Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophia Dunkley, Annabel Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Sneh Rana, S Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, Dayalan Hemalatha, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia, Shabman Shakil,
UP Warriorz
Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Parshavi Chopra, Shweta Sehrawat, S Yashasri, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Devika Vaidya, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Simran Shaikh,
Delhi Capitals
Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhtar, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Taniya Bhatia. Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mondal.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
