Women's Premier League: BCCI awards title sponsorship rights to TATA Group

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has awarded the title sponsorship rights of the Women's Premier League (WPL) seasons 2023-2027 to TATA Group.

As per BCCI, the TATA Group, who also holds the title rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will be promoting its two flagship brands: TATA Capital and TATA Motors during the 2023-2027 time period.

"We are really happy and excited to have TATA Group as the title sponsor for the WPL. We feel this is one of the most significant developments which will further boost the popularity of women's cricket."

The Indian women's team has left no stone unturned to make the country proud and WPL is a step to indicate the upswing of women's cricket in India. The tournament marks a new chapter in the history of women's cricket in India and I am sure that it will set a new benchmark in the times to come; encouraging the Indian as well as the world cricketers to take up and pursue the sport," said Roger Binny, President, BCCI, in an official statement on Wednesday.

The inaugural edition of the WPL is seen as the beginning of a new era in women's cricket in India. Some of the brightest Indian stars such as captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma -- captain of India's U19 Women's T20 World Cup-winning team, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh playing in same teams as global cricketing stars such as Alyssa Healy, Deandra Dottin, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Ecclestone and Sophie Devine amongst others.

"Women's cricket is achieving new heights with every passing day and having TATA Group on board as the Title Sponsor for the Women's Premier League is a testament of the growing stature of women's cricket in India. The WPL will now be called TATA Women's Premier League. The BCCI values and appreciates women's cricket and the WPL is one more initiative to further nurture the game," said Jay Shah, Secretary, BCCI.

The first edition of the WPL will comprise 22 matches and will feature five teams -- Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore & UP Warriorz. The prestigious tournament will be played from March 04 to 26 in Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium.

While Adani Group, through Adani Sportsline Pvt. Ltd got Gujarat Giants with the highest bid of INR 1289 crores, Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd acquired Mumbai Indians franchise with a bid of INR 912.99 crores.

Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd, JSW GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd and Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd won the rest of the three franchises based in Bangalore, Delhi and Lucknow with winning bids of INR 901 crores, INR 810 crores and INR 757 crores respectively.

Viacom18 is the broadcaster of the WPL for five seasons, having won the rights with a bid of INR 951 crores, which translates to a per match value of INR 7.09 crores.

"After extending their support to the IPL, we are happy to have TATA Group on board for the Women's Premier League. We look forward to a fruitful partnership and the BCCI is sure the WPL brand will grow manifold with this move. I am sure this will be a long and enriching affiliation for both stakeholders."

"The beginning of the WPL is one more step in BCCI's continuous endeavour to support and promote women's cricket in India. This is the inaugural edition of the tournament, which promises to inspire and act as motivation for the budding women cricketers across the globe," said Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman, IPL.