BCCI To Unveil Women's IPL Franchises On January 25 – Reports

According to a report published in ESPNcricinfo, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will most likely unveil the names of the five franchises participating in the Women’s IPL (WIPL) and the cities they will operate from on January 25.

The long-awaited Women’s IPL is all set to begin this year and the tournament is set to have 5 teams. The official dates for the tournament have not been announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). However, reports claim that the Women’s IPL is likely to be played from March 5 to March 23 in India.

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A total of 22 games are expected to be played in the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL. 20 games will be played in the group stage as each team will play the other twice and the table topper will qualify directly for the final. Also, the second and third-placed teams will play an Eliminator to determine the second finalist. Notably, the 22 games a season concept will continue for the first three seasons and from the fourth season there is a possibility of 33-34 games being played.

The squads for the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL will be formed via a player auction, which will be reportedly held in February. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on January 3 announced the release of an Invitation to Tender for the right to own and operate a Women’s IPL (WIPL) franchise.

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Meanwhile, the financial bids of franchises, which have been submitted in sealed envelopes, are all set to be opened on January 25. The BCCI has also highlighted that it is “not obliged to accept the highest monetary offer” and will look for ways for the bidders to work towards enriching the development of women’s cricket in India.

BCCI Shortlists 10 Cities For Women’s IPL, Single Bidder Can Contest For More Than One City – Reports

As per the same ESPNcricinfo report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clearly mentioned in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document that a single bidder can compete for more than one city. Also, the board has shortlisted a total of 10 cities and listed the venues, including their respective capacities, in the tender.

The cities shortlisted by the board are; Ahmedabad (Narendra Modi stadium, capacity 112,560), Kolkata (Eden Gardens, 65,000), Chennai (MA Chidambaram stadium, 50,000), Bangalore (M Chinnaswamy stadium, 42,000), Delhi (Arun Jaitley stadium, 55,000), Dharamsala (HPCA stadium, 20,900), Guwahati (Barsapara Stadium, 38,650), Indore (Holkar stadium, 26,900), Lucknow (AB Vajpayee Ekana cricket stadium, 48,800) and Mumbai (Wankhede / DY Patil / Brabourne Stadiums). Notably, only one of three grounds will be utilised based on “availability and other factors” for Mumbai.

The plan of having a 10-city pool is quite different from the original plan of the board. Earlier, the board had planned to either pick one city from each of the six zones across the country or hold the tournament in a half-a-dozen cities without proper home bases for the five franchises.

The bidders have been asked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to quote a price for a franchise for 10 editions as no official base price has been set by the board. Also, the bidders are allowed to contest for more than one city, but the successful bidder will only get one franchise.

“The stadium with the highest bid amount will be awarded first. Thereafter, the stadium with the next highest bid amount will be awarded,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.

There will be re-bidding if two of the highest bids for a single venue are equal. If the highest bids for two venues from two different bidders are the same, the BCCI will have the “discretion to decide the order.” Also, if a bidder makes top bids for more than one city, the board will decide on the venue.

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