BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Thursday unveiled the mascot of the Women's Premier League, 'Shakti'. ANI took to its Twitter handle and posted a video. The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League is all set to commence from March 4 with the first match set to be played between Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
"The Women's Premier League will be played from March 4 to 26 in Mumbai," IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told PTI.
With the five teams fetching Rs 4669.99 crore and the BCCI selling the media rights for Rs 951 crore, the WPL is the second biggest T20 League in the world behind the Indian Premier League.
The first season will see as many as five teams fight it out for ultimate glory. The five participating franchises in the competition are: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals and the UP Warriorz.
Earlier, history was made at the Jio Convention Centre in Mumbai which witnessed the first-ever Women's Premier League auction on February 13 (Monday). The five teams were there to outbid each other for the best cricketing talent around the world for the tournament's first-ever season starting next month. Crores of rupees were spent, life-changing deals made in what would be a day to remember for the ages especially from the viewpoint of women's cricket in the world.
Smriti Mandhana became the first-ever player to be sold at the Women's Premier League auction. She was sold for INR 3.4 Crore to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Not only was she the first player but she also became the costliest buy at the inaugural WPL auction. Australia's Ashleigh Gardner, along expected lines, was the joint-second most expensive purchase in WPL Auction. She was bought by the Gujarat Giants for INR 3.20 Crore.