The Tournament will consist of 20 league games, with teams playing each other twice.
New Delhi: According to a BCCI, the competition will have 20 league games, with teams playing each other twice. The table leaders will advance directly to the final, while the teams in second and third place will compete in the Eliminator.
Each team playing eleven can include no more than five overseas cricketers.
“To have a good balance of domestic & international players and competitive teams, it has been tentatively decided to have five teams for WIPL. Each team can comprise a maximum of eighteen players, whereas no team can have more than six overseas players.
“Further, no more than five overseas players – four from Full Members of the ICC and one from the Associate Members of the ICC – can be part of the playing XI of each team,” read the BCCI statement.
The Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and The Hundred in the United Kingdom have a squad limit of 15 and allow no more than three players abroad.
The board also believes that the home-and-away system will be impractical with a limited number of teams. The event is expected to take place immediately after the Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa from February 9 to February 26.
“Like IPL, it will be a challenge to play in the home-away format in WIPL, as with five to six teams, it is impossible to have a match every day. It is suggested that the Tournament can be played in caravan style where after finishing ten matches at one venue next ten matches are to be played at the next venue.
“Therefore, ten matches each to be played across two venues in the 2023 WIPL season, ten each in the next two venues in the 2024 season and for the 2025 season, ten matches in the remaining one venue and the remaining ten in one of the venues from 2023 season.”
In terms of team sales, the board has shortlisted two cities for each zone: Dharamsala/Jammu (North zone), Pune/Rajkot (West), Indore/Nagpur/Raipur (Central), Ranchi/Cuttack (East), Kochi/Vizag (South), and Guwahati (North-East).
“Alternatively, WIPL teams can be sold, and matches can be held at venues that already hold IPL matches.”
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai are among the major cities.
Following the initial announcement of the Women’s IPL, it was generally reported that IPL owners would have the first refusal over purchasing teams.
The IPL governing council and BCCI office-bearers will make the final decision on all Women’s IPL affairs.
