MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to reveal the names of five franchises which will feature in the inaugural edition of Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) and the cities they will operate from on January 25, ESPNCricinfo has reported.
The financial bids of the five franchises, currently sealed in envelopes will be opened on that day. BCCI has however pointed out in its tender document that it is not “obliged to accept the highest monetary offer” and would look for a way for bidders to work towards the betterment of women’s cricket in the country.
The inaugural edition of the WIPL will run form March 3 to Match 26.
Last week, BCCI had released a tender inviting bids to own and operate the five WIPL franchises. In the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document, BCCI has pointed out that a single bidder can contest for more than one city.
BCCI has shortlisted a total of 10 cities in the tender: Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Indore, Lucknow and Mumbai.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the current plan of having a 10-city pool is different from what BCCI had submitted to state associations at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) last year. At the time, BCCI intended to either pick one city from each of the six zones across India or hold the tournament across six cities without any defined home base for the five teams.
Except for Dharamsala, Guwahati and Indore, the other seven cities serve as home bases for teams in the men’s IPL. BCCI has set no base price, bidders have been asked to quote a price for 10 seasons. Bidders also have the option for contesting for more than one franchise/city, but the board has said that only one franchise will be given to a successful bidder.
“The stadium with the highest bid amount will be awarded first,” the BCCI has said. “Thereafter, the stadium with the next highest bid amount will be awarded,” he added.
In case two of the highest bids for a single venue turn out to be equal, BCCI has said that a re-bid would take place. If the highest bids for two venues and two bidders are the same, BCCI will have the “discretion to decide the order”. In case a bidder raises top bid for more than one ground, BCCI has liberty to decide the venue.
Based on information accessed by ESPNcricinfo from the ITT, the first three seasons from 2023-2025 will consist of 22 matches. In league phase, each team will play the other twice (A total of 20 matches) and the table topper will progress to the final. Second and third-finishing teams will play in an eliminator to decide on the finalist.
BCCI has also clarified that March will stay as the window for the WIPL.
