The player auction for Women’s Premier League 2023 (WPL) is likely to be held on 11th February in Delhi. An alternative option may be the 13th in Mumbai. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) thought of conducting the players’ auction on 6th February. However, according to reports, the franchise owners had pleaded with the board and thus postponed it.
The newly made five franchises of WPL will thus have less than a month to get themselves prepared for the tournament’s inaugural edition. It is expected that the tournament will take place from March 4th to 24th. The franchisees however said that they are trying to assemble their coaching staffs before sitting at the auction table. They showed this as one of the main reasons behind their request to delay the auction date.
Furthermore, the Women’s Premier League teams have also got them invested in the ongoing ILT20 2023 and SA20 2023 tournaments. The final of the ILT20 2023 will be played on February 12th and that of SA20 2023 on February 13th. Even though the governing body gave no confirmations, it is said that the matches of the marquee tournament will take place in March itself.
Mumbai likely to conduct WPL 2023
A report from ESPNcricinfo says that the BCCI is trying to schedule the first edition of the WPL entirely in Mumbai. The stadiums considered Brabourne Stadium and Dr. D.Y. Patil National Sports Academy are supposed to host all 22 matches.
According to the board members, summing up the entire WPL in one city will reduce the pressure of traveling from one city to another. This is thought keeping in mind the upcoming Women’s T-20 World Cup 2023, which will sign out on 26th February. Logistical reasons were also kept in mind behind congesting all the matches at Mumbai itself.
However, WPL will disappoint the franchisees a bit. Like the Men’s IPL tournament, it will also be deprived of the benefits of home and away matches.
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