MOHIT BURMAN, CO-OWNER (and largest shareholder) of IPL team Punjab Kings, says the franchise would love to own a team in the four-season-old Women’s Premier League “at some point”.
The five-team WPL currently has three teams owned by IPL franchises — Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals. Gujarat Giants (owned by Adani Sportsline) and UP Warriorz (owners Capri Global Holdings) are the two other WPL teams.
While the BCCI has no immediate plans to expand the WPL, Burman is bullish about the growth of the game globally and says he “would be happy to invest in the league when the opportunity arises”.
“The WPL has already established itself as an important platform for the women’s game in a very short period of time. The growth of women’s cricket has been fantastic to witness,” Burman, who owns 48% stake in Punjab Kings, told PTI.
“As for investment decisions, every group evaluates opportunities differently depending on timing, strategic priorities and long-term business considerations. Not investing initially should not be interpreted as a lack of belief in women’s cricket.”
“Personally, I think the future of the women’s game is extremely bright. We would love to own a women’s IPL team,” he told the newswire.
Burman feels the recent success of WPL and Indian women’s team has generated a lot of interest at the grassroot level.
Harmanpreet Kaur-led India won the women’s ODI World Cup for the first time last year and is being considered a strong contender for the T20 world crown, which will be contested next month in England.
“The quality of cricket, audience interest and commercial response have all exceeded expectations in many ways. What is especially encouraging is the impact it is having at the grassroots level,” Burman said.
“Young girls today can see women cricketers as major sporting icons and viable professional athletes, and that changes the future of the sport entirely,” he added, referring to the sharp increase in the brand value of women cricketers after last year’s World Cup triumph.
Earlier this year, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan too expressed the storied franchise’s interest to invest in women’s cricket.
“Not immediately, but certainly in the coming years, CSK will expand its footprint. Our first target will be women’s cricket. We may also go into other sports over time,” PTI quotes Viswanathan as having said at a conclave.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal had told the agency last year that the board had no immediate plans to add teams to WPL.
“To further strengthen this tournament for the time being, we want to consolidate before we take a call on further addition of any team. There are no immediate plans (to add teams),” Dhumal had said.
WPL began in 2023 with five teams. Mumbai Indians and RCB have won two titles each in the editions held so far.
