Women's Premier League (WPL): Indian Women's T20 Cricket
The Women's Premier League launched in 2023 as India's first women's franchise T20 competition. This guide covers WPL's creation, the teams, impact on women's cricket globally, and the competition structure.
The Women's Premier League (WPL) launched in March 2023 as India's first women's franchise T20 cricket competition — the first major women's franchise league with a significant talent pool and broadcast reach. Modelled on the IPL, the WPL auctioned five franchises for ₹4,669 crore and attracted the world's leading women's cricketers from over 20 nations. Its creation represented a structural shift in women's cricket: for the first time, women's domestic cricket offered salaries competitive with elite global sport.
WPL Structure and Teams
The WPL comprises five teams: Mumbai Indians Women, Delhi Capitals Women, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants. Each team can select up to 18 players with a minimum of 6 overseas players permitted in the squad. Matches are played at neutral venues in Mumbai and Delhi. Each team can field up to 4 overseas players in their playing XI. The competition runs over a five-week period in February-March, avoiding conflict with the ICC women's calendar.
Impact on Global Women's Cricket
The WPL's commercial success has accelerated the global women's franchise cricket landscape. The SA20 Women's League, the WBBL in Australia (the original women's franchise competition since 2015), The Hundred Women's competition in England, and the ILT20 Women's competition have all grown in tandem. The combination of these competitions now offers elite women cricketers year-round professional cricket, closing the structural gap with men's cricket that limited women's full-time professional opportunities in previous decades.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) established?
Cricket Australia launched the Women's Big Bash League in 2015, making it the world's first women's franchise T20 competition. It predates all other women's franchise leagues and was the primary proving ground for women's T20 cricket before the WPL launched in 2023. The WBBL has 8 teams aligned with the Big Bash League's 8 franchises and runs a full round-robin competition over October-November each year.
How does WPL compare to the IPL in terms of salary?
WPL salaries are significantly lower than IPL salaries but represent transformative earnings for women's cricket. The highest WPL annual salary (approx. ₹3.4 crore) compares to the highest IPL contract (₹24 crore+). However, WPL salaries are the highest ever paid in women's cricket globally, and the minimum WPL salary is competitive with what leading women cricketers previously earned from national central contracts in England, Australia or India.