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The T20 franchise competition for women, on which the BCCI is working, is expected to be named the Women's T20 League and five clubs for which applications have been solicited would be formed through a player auction in February. The Women's T20 League will be similar to Indian Premier League.
The deadline for Indian players to register for the auction is January 26 at 5 pm IST, as per ESPNcricinfo. The Women's T20 Challenge, which began as a two-team one-off game in 2018 before expanding to a three-team exhibition tournament in 2019 and two further editions in 2020 and 2022, will be replaced by this competition. The basic price for capped Indian players is set at INR 30 lakh, INR 40 lakh, and INR 50 lakh in the document titled 'Guidance note for Indian players' exchanged by the board with the Indian players, as per ESPNcricinfo. The base price for uncapped players has been capped at INR 10 lakh and INR 20 lakh. Players should register for the Women's T20 League directly with their state associations, rather than through agents or managers. Sourav Ganguly, former BCCI president, had stated in February last year that the Women's IPL would begin in 2023. The BCCI settled on a March timeframe in August. As a result, the BCCI moved the women's domestic calendar, which typically runs from November to April, forward to accommodate the franchise competition. Since the formal announcement about women's T20 league, a number of men's IPL clubs have been sending out talent scouts to discover players they could eventually sign for the women's tournament if they are awarded the rights to own a franchise. Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings are all believed to be interested in acquiring a team for the women's league. Since India finished second in the ODI World Cup in 2017, there has been a growing demand for the Women's IPL to begin. It gathered pace when they reached the finals of the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020 until Covid-19 restrictions forced suspension of women's cricket and other competitive sports events. BCCI invited bids last month for media rights for the planned five-team tournament from 2023 to 2027. (ANI)
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