Buoyed by the success of the inaugural Women’s Premier League, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said on Tuesday that they plan to introduce the home-and-away format from season two, but the number of teams will remain at five for the next three years.
The first-ever WPL turned out to be a hit among fans and players, but as the tournament was staged within tough timelines and right after the Women’s T20 World Cup, the BCCI decided to organise all the games across two venues in Mumbai.
Terming the hosting of the WPL the biggest challenge of his tenure, Dhumal said having home and away games immensely helps teams in building a fan base, and the board wants to take that route as early as next season. “Well begun is half done. It has been a great beginning for WPL, and going forward, it is going to be much better than what we have seen so far. We have started with five teams, but going forward, there is scope for an additional team given the pool of players that is going to come in the years to follow.”
“We are hoping for an increase in the number of teams, but for the coming three seasons it will remain five. We are surely looking at a home-and-away format; we will see which time slot is available considering India’s international commitment and take a call. From a fan engagement point of view, it is very important that we go for the home-and-away format,” Dhumal told PTI. One reason for not introducing a sixth team right away could be the lack of quality local talent. The world’s best displayed their exemplary skills in the competition, but leaving aside Saika Ishaque, Kanika Ahuja, and Shreyanka Patil, not many uncapped Indian players were able to turn heads.
Fans turned up in sizeable numbers to watch the games at Brabourne and DY Patil Stadium. The event had garnered massive attention even before the first ball was bowled, with the teams rights fetching the BCCI close to Rs 4700 crore and media rights close to Rs 951 crore. “It has been a phenomenal ride so far and quite a challenging one given the time slot we had to start the WPL. We are satisfied with the way things have progressed. We did not have much of a window as the World Cup was there, and the girls had just about a week to come back and start.”