Around 1,000 Cricketers Sign Up For Women’s Premier League Auction: Report

Women's Premier League: Only 100-120 of them will be picked by the 5 participating franchises in the Auction

The inaugural Women's Premier League broke the team bidding reocord of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008. 

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Days before the Women's Premier League Auction set to happen in the second week of February, a recent media report suggests that around 1,000 cricketers have given their names for the auction. It should be noted that 5 teams are participating in the competition- Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, and Bengaluru. This means that around 100-120 players will be picked by the franchises. 

"Lot of interest has been seen and as many as 1000 cricketers have signed up for the WPL auction. Very healthy participation from both Indian and international players," a source close to developments has told News18 Cricketnext.

For the IPL 2022 mega auction, 1,214 players had signed up which was shortened to a 600-member list. 278 out of those were picked by ten participating franchises in the IPL 2022 auction in Bengaluru which was a two-day affair.

With so many women cricketers showing their interest to play in the tournament, one can sense the kind of anticipation fans and the cricket community have for the tournament, especially considering that the Men's IPL is already a grand success.

In a tweet, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirmed that the inaugural Women's Premier League broke the team bidding reocord of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008. 

"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in total bid," he wrote.

No official confirmation of the IPL Auction Venue Yet

Meanwhile, there has not been any official confirmation of the IPL Auction venue but the bidding war is expected to take place either in Delhi on February 11 or in Mumbai on February 13.

"No official communication yet but we are prepping in full swing for the 11 February – 13 February window. Makes sense too because the ILT20 and SA20 will be in their final stages before that and most WPL teams, who have presence there, will find it hard to juggle the two, some even three," a team official of the new WPL team told News18 Cricketnext.

A separate report has claimed that the BCCI is having difficulty in booking a hotel room owing to the wedding season in India which is why they haven't yet finalised a venue. The Jio World Centre in Mumbai, as per some reports, could be the venue for the WPL auction.