In a milestone for women’s cricket in India, the Indian Cricket Control Board (BCCI) on Wednesday officially announced the five teams participating in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Adani Group made the largest bid for the Ahmedabad team, spending Rs 12.89 crore.
Her four other companies with the highest bids were Indiawin Sports Private Limited (a subsidiary of Reliance Group), Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Capri Global.
Here’s everything you need to know about the five franchises participating in the Women’s Premier League in March.
Ahmedabad – ADANI SPORTSLINE PVT LTD – INR 1289 CR
Adani Sportsline Private Limited, owned by her Gautam Adani, India’s richest person, won a bid to own his franchise in Ahmedabad with the highest bid of Rs.1289 CR. After missing out on a team in the Indian Men’s Premier League, the Adani Group broke the bank for a franchise in the Women’s Premier League.
This is not the group’s first foray into the sport. The group owns a Kabaddi team, a Koko team and a boxing team, all named Gujarat Giants. They also run a national program called #Garvhai. The program claims to develop India’s next generation of sports champions and support their journey to represent India.
They also have franchise rights in the UAE’s International League T20 – the Gulf Giants – and run the full his marathon in Ahmedabad every year. The Adani Group also has a Legends League Cricket franchise called the Gujarat Giants. They decided to use the same name for their WPL franchise as well.
MUMBAI – INDIAWIN SPORTS PVT LTD – INR 912.99 CR
India Win Sports Private Limited won his second highest tender for Mumbai franchise at Rs.912.99 CR. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
The Ambani family-owned group has a strong presence in the sports industry, especially cricket. They own India’s most successful franchise, the Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians. It also recently acquired South African and UAE franchise cricket leagues MI Cape Town and MI Emirates respectively.
Ambani-run Football Sports Development Limited launched the Indian Super League in 2014. This is a franchise football tournament aimed at attracting investment and global heavyweights to improve the overall quality of football in India.
Nita Ambani, co-owner of the Mumbai Indians and wife of Mukesh Ambani, has successfully bid to host the International Olympic Committee’s meeting in Mumbai for the first time in 40 years.
BANGALORE – ROYAL CHALLENGER SPORTS PVT LTD – INR 901 CR
Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited has won a tender to acquire his Bengaluru franchise with a bid price of Rs.901 CR.
The group is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Spirits, which owns Royal Challengers Bengaluru at IPL. Led by director Prathmesh Mishra, the group spent his 24.55% of total bid scores to win the team at the WPL. United Spirits is India’s leading alcoholic beverage company and has been acquired by the Diageo Group. The company manufactures, sells and distributes premium beverages.
Delhi – JSW GMR CRICKET PVT LTD – INR 801 CR
JSW GMR Cricket Private Limited (previously known as ‘GMR Sports Private Limited’) paid $810 million to win Delhi’s bid at the WPL.
Founded in 2008, it owns a number of franchises across different sports, according to GMR Group official reports. The Capital IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals, marked the beginning of this venture, followed by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) franchise. Pro Kabaddi League – UP Yoddhas and Kho Kho Team Telugu Yoddhas join Ultimate Kho Kho.
JSW also owns Bengaluru FC, a Kabaddi team (football franchise he Haryana Steelers) and in Bellary, Karnataka he also runs a high performance sports center called the Inspire Institute of Sports.
In cricket, the consortium also acquired the Dubai Capitals franchise of the recently launched international league T20 in the United Arab Emirates. GMR also owns a Legends League Cricket franchise called India Capitals. Lucknow – CAPRI GLOBAL HOLDINGS PVT LTD – INR 757 CR
Capri Global Holdings Private Limited (CGCL), a non-bank financial company (NBFC), has won Lucknow’s bid with an offer of Rs.757 CR.
Capri Global won the Lucknow franchise with the lowest bid of the top five bidders, accounting for his 16.20% of the total bid score. The group also failed to bid for a team in the 2021 Men’s IPL.
However, this isn’t her first time as a sports franchise owner. Capri Global owns the Sharjah Warriors of the UAE League tournament, International League T20. The group is also affiliated with the Kabaddi franchise Bengal Warriors of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) and owns the Rajasthan Warriors of the Ultimate Khoko (UKK) League.
Founded by Rakesh Sharma, his CGCL is primarily present in sectors such as Microcredit, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Mortgage. The company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).