The inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) obtained below means in Mumbai on Saturday, and whereas the season may be 22 days lengthy, it might put ladies’s cricket on a really totally different path.

“It’s going to be perhaps the most transformative competition ever seen in women’s cricket,” stated Melinda Farrell of ESPN, a number one authority on the lady’s sport.

The five-team match follows the fast-paced T20 format through which video games final about three hours. The Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow-based UP Warriorz will compete till March 26.

The cash invested is already eye-catching. About $580m was spent on buying the 5 franchises in January. The broadcasting rights have been offered to Viacom18 for $117m over 5 years, a deal that’s the second highest per sport in ladies’s sport on the earth, behind solely basketball within the United States.

“Such big sums are both an indicator of the strength of women’s cricket but also an enabler of further changes to come,” stated Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical financial system at SKEMA Business School in France.

“Investors in the sport recognise that there is already significant popular engagement with it, which, with improved leadership and management, could yield greater returns in the future,” he stated.

In February, the Indian conglomerate Tata Group was introduced because the title sponsor for the primary 5 years, and whereas the quantity it paid has not been disclosed, it’s considered substantial.

“The more money that enters the sport, the more money there will be to develop players, create infrastructure and build competitions,” Chadwick stated. “Money isn’t the answer to every problem, but in this situation, it certainly helps.”

Women’s cricket on the rise

The WPL was born at a time of rising curiosity in ladies’s cricket around the globe.

In 2009, the Women’s World Cup ultimate between England and New Zealand was watched by slightly greater than 2,000 followers in Sydney. The 2020 ultimate of the T20 World Cup, nonetheless, noticed 86,000 folks pack the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“That shows the interest there is in going to the games, let alone watching that on TV,” Farrell stated. “The last T20 World Cup in Australia broke all records for attendance and viewing figures. There is a global increase in women’s cricket, and that will translate into a lot of interest.”

There are actually extra competitions for girls. In 2021, The Hundred was born in England, a fair shorter format of the sport than T20 with simply 100 balls. It is designed to draw new audiences which will discover the standard five-day take a look at format too lengthy and too sluggish.

Eight groups performed in a round-robin league format, which noticed a complete attendance of 271,000 final yr. In Australia, the 2021 ultimate of the Women’s Big Bash attracted 535,000 viewers.

In Pakistan, one other cricket-loving nation in South Asia, there may be additionally curiosity.

The WPL “is a great initiative that will put more eyeballs on women’s cricket”, stated sports activities commentator Umaid Wasim of Dawn, one of many nation’s main newspapers.

“Just like the men’s leagues around the world, this will see similar women’s leagues spring all across the globe with Pakistan trying to hold a similar tournament later this year,” he stated.

The WPL would be the largest and most profitable ladies’s cricket competitors. The February 13 public sale noticed nearly 1,500 ladies compete for its 90 spots – 18 in every franchise. India’s Smriti Mandhana will earn essentially the most after Bangalore bid about $413,000 for her. All-rounders Ashleigh Gardner and Natalie Sciver from Australia and England, respectively, are the very best valued overseas gamers at $390,000 every.

Such sums may be game-changers for girls gamers all over the place.

“For a sport that is still amateur or semi-professional in many countries, these are eye-watering amounts,” Farrell stated. “It makes cricket seem like a viable career for women and young girls. It ensures they can look at cricket as a full-time career, and this will raise the standards as they can concentrate on cricket full time.”

There is already a blueprint for achievement. The males’s Indian Premier League (IPL) began in 2008 and has grown to be one of the crucial well-liked, profitable and influential home sporting competitions on the earth.

In June, the IPL, which has grown from eight groups to 10, offered its media rights for a five-year interval for simply greater than $6bn, rivalling the likes of the English Premier League and National Football League within the United States. Salaries are additionally excessive with England’s Sam Curran the highest earner at about $2.24m.

“The Indian Premier League cricket has for a long time blazed a train for men’s cricket across the world,” Chadwick stated. “Now it is time for the women’s version to do the same.”

“The appetite for the game in India, allied to the country’s willingness to push the boundaries of production and consumption, is arguably the main force that has driven cricket into the 21st century,” he stated.

The monetary rewards on provide in India signifies that gamers typically prioritise the IPL over their nationwide groups.

In February, England take a look at group captain Ben Stokes performed his nation’s ultimate take a look at in opposition to New Zealand in Wellington with an injured knee. Despite England getting ready to face large rivals Australia in June, Stokes instantly made it clear that he would play for the Chennai Super Kings from March to May when he’ll earn about $2m.

With the sums on provide within the WPL, gamers are additionally more likely to see the match as a precedence.

“There is a window for the three tournaments with the IPL, Big Bash in Australia and The Hundred in England, which are ring-fenced at the moment,” Farrell stated. “But there is going to have to be a balance between franchise tournaments and international cricket as that is the bedrock of the women’s game.”

The WPL is about to grow to be a big a part of the sport’s calendar.

It is simply too early to say whether or not the WPL “becomes the dominant form of the game, but if it does, then it will be unsurprising,” Chadwick stated.