BCCI Is Considering Holding The Inaugural WIPL In Early 2023, With 5 Teams And 20 Matches Spread Across Two Venues

The Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) is expected to debut in March 2023, as per reports from the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).

The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League and the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 fall within a narrow window (IPL).

The BCCI is reportedly considering allowing franchises to field up to five foreign players in their starting XI, according to a report from Cricbuzz. Up to four of those five players may be from ICC Full Member countries, leaving one spot available for players from Associate countries.

In contrast, the IPL has no restrictions on the inclusion of players from Full Member nations and allows teams to have up to four players.

Additionally, the report states that BCCI intends to sell the franchises either by city or by zone. It said:

“The board is also debating between two options of selling the IPL teams: Zone wise – North (Dharamsala/Jammu), South (Kochi/Vizag), Central (Indore/Nagpur/Raipur), East (Ranchi/Cuttack), North East (Guwahati) and West (Pune/Rajkot) – with matches held at non-IPL venues) and existing city-wise like with Men’s IPL (Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata – with matches held at IPL venues).”

BCCI is currently considering a schedule that is similar to the IPL 2021 caravan For the first WIPL season:

The five franchises are scheduled to play each other five times in a round-robin format and have already sparked interest among current IPL franchise owners.

The league stage winner will advance directly to the championship game, while the runners-up and third-place teams are expected to compete in an elimination round.

In WIPL 2023, the proposed format will result in 20 fixtures, for which the BCCI is considering using two venues. Before switching locations for the second half of the season, the tournament will initially be set up at one location.

The first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season followed a similar schedule. Faction-based teams were formed, and the first round of matches were held in Mumbai and Chennai.

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