Home and Away format in plans for WPL season 2 as BCCI gets ready to overhaul women's cricket in India
Home and Away format in plans for WPL season 2, says IPL chairman Arun Dhumal
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal are planning to revamp the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for the second edition. The current expansion plans include the home and away format which will see teams make away trips rather than playing the entire season in one city. This was the case for season 1 when the entire WPL took place in Mumbai.
"Well begun is half done. It has been a great beginning for WPL and going forward it is going to be much better than what we have seen so far. We have started with five teams but going forward there is scope for an additional team given the pool of the players that is going to come in the years to follow.
"We are hoping increase in the number of teams but for the coming three seasons will remain five. We are surely looking at home and away format, we will see which time slot is available considering India's international commitment and take a call.
"From a fan engagement point of view it is very important that we go for home and away format," Dhumal told PTI.
The WPL season one was a huge hit with five teams participating the inaugural edition of the tournament. The BCCI is also planning to expand the tournament as it tries to carry out a revolution in Women’s games, but that won’t happen until the 2026 edition. BCCI earned a whopping close to Rs 4700 crore for team rights and Rs 951 crore for media rights for WPL.
"It has been a phenomenal ride so far and quite a challenging one given the time slot we had to start the WPL. We are satisfied with the way things have progressed, we did not have much of a window as the World Cup was there and the girls had just about a week to come back and start.
AL SO READ |Just come and bowl, MS Dhoni has asked you to return: S Sreesanth reveals untold tale from CWC'11 final
"Everything (media rights, team rights, player auction) happened one after the other but the way the tournament was received, it was phenomenal," Dhumal said.
The WPL season is likely to take place prior to the IPL season, meaning that the next edition of the tournament will take place in March 2024, and could likely start in February 2024 to accommodate the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai Indians were the inaugural champions of the WPL having beaten Delhi Capitals in the final, which proved to be a one-sided contest.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
