The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has got richer by Rs 4699.99 crore. Ever since the board rolled out its plan to launch a T20 league for women on the lines of the Indian Premier League, top corporate houses had shown interest in owning the five teams up for grabs. On Wednesday, when the bids in Mumbai, the BCCI was celebrating another big pay day.

The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will have five teams based out of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Lucknow. The tournament is set to take place in March with player auction set for February.

And even before a ball is bowled, the WPL has fetched Rs 5,650.99 crore to the BCCI and its broadcast right (bought by Viacom for Rs 951 crore) already makes it the second highest among T20 leagues, only behind the IPL. Not even Big Bash League, The Hundred or any other domestic T20 league comes close to these numbers.

The Adani Group went all out for the Ahmedabad franchise, by placing a highest bid Rs 1,289 cr. After missing out on owning an IPL franchise when two new teams were introduced in 2022, the, the Adani Sportsline Private Limited have now entered the Indian cricket ecosystem.

The next three highest bids came from IPL franchises who were keen to spread their roots into the women’s game. While Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants had stayed away from the bidding, the rest showed interest and placed a bid. And among them, Mumbai Indians (Rs 912 cr), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 901 cr), Delhi Capitals (Rs 810 cr) placed the highest and walk away with a franchise. All three have picked the same home base as their men’s team.

The fifth franchise went to Capri Global, who bought the Lucknow franchise for Rs 757 crore. Kolkata placed a bid of Rs 666 crore, which was far off the table. It is understood that the lowest bid on the table came from Rajasthan Royals who bid Rs 180 crore, which is less 1,109 crore less than Adani’s winning bid.

The overall sum of Rs 4,699.99 crore even caught many in the BCCI by surprise. In fact, when the IPL franchises were first sold in 2007, Mumbai Indians was the most expensive franchise at Rs 446 crore. It is not even half of the top three franchises in the WPL.

(With inputs from agencies)