WPL hailed as ‘game-changing’ for women’s cricket
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Mumbai Indians' players with the trophy after winning the 2023 Women's Premier League Twenty20 cricket final match on Sunday.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW DELHI – Indian cricket administrators and pundits on Monday hailed the Women’s Premier League (WPL) as a huge success, after the inaugural tournament ended in fireworks with the Mumbai Indians winning the trophy in front of a huge crowd.
Franchise and media rights for the women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) sold for around US$700 million (S$932.9 million), making it the second-most lucrative domestic women’s sports competition after professional basketball in the United States.
Mumbai beat the Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in a thrilling final on Sunday to conclude the three-week Twenty20 extravaganza.
England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt hit the winning runs to trigger wild celebrations at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, which was nearly full to its capacity of 20,000.
“It was like a festival for women’s cricket which the entire world was celebrating. The atmosphere at the stadium was at par if not better than any big tournament final,” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told AFP.
“As far as TV ratings are concerned, as far as competitive cricket is concerned, it was a great tournament.”
West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews was named Player of the Series for her 16 wickets and 271 runs, while Australia’s Meg Lanning scored the most runs in the competition with 345, including 35 for Delhi in the final.
Dhumal, former treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), called the competition “game-changing” for the women’s game in the cricket-obsessed country of 1.4 billion.
Former England men’s captain Michael Vaughan predicted a bright future for the WPL, tweeting: “The #WPL has been fantastic... Only going to get bigger & bigger.”
Mumbai and India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who became the first Indian cricketer to be signed by an overseas T20 franchise when she joined Sydney Thunder in the Australian Women’s Big Bash in 2016, said the WPL will make home players improve.
“The pressure that comes with playing at this level and how to stay calm is what the Indian players should learn from their overseas teammates,” Kaur said.
“Next season will be more exciting and people will be waiting for this.”
Mumbai coach and England great Charlotte Edwards, a former national captain who played 191 one-day internationals and 23 Tests, called Sunday’s title triumph one of her “greatest moments in cricket”.
The Mumbai team are owned by Nita Ambani, wife of India’s richest man, Reliance Industries billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
The Mumbai men’s team also hold a record five titles in the IPL, the 16th edition of which gets under way on Friday. AFP
