MI, RCB and DC confirmed as IPL franchises to have WPL teams

The BCCI have confirmed the five successful bidders for the Women’s IPL, which will henceforth be called the ‘Women’s Premier League’, and among the five bidders are Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (owners of RCB), JSW GMR Cricket Private Limited (owners of DC) and Indiawin Sports Private Limited (owned by the Reliance group). RCB, MI and DC will hence have representation in the WPL. 

Among the three franchises, MI came up with the highest bid of 912.99 crore, while RCB came second with 901. DC, meanwhile, bid for INR 810 crore. 

The highest bid of the auction, INR 1289 crore, however, came from the Adani group (for the Ahmedabad-based franchise), who failed to acquire a franchise in the Indian Premier League.

The fifth and the final successful bid came from Capri Global Holdings Private Limited, who launched a successful INR 757 crore bid.

The BCCI announced on its official Twitter account that the combined bid valuation is INR 4669.99 Cr.

A proud Jay Shah took to Twitter to announce that the bidding for the inaugural teams of the WPL 'broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008'.

"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in total bid. This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity," Shah tweeted.

"The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder."

Shah also confirmed that the league has officially been named the Women's Premier League.

Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings all launched bids to own a WPL team, but were outbid in the end.