AAfter years uproar Hailed by cricketers, fans and the media alike, the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League kicked off last weekend with the Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians. sweep aside Adani-owned Gujarat Giants won by 143 runs.
The demolition by one of the most successful cricket franchises in T20’s short but storied history dates back to 18 April 2008, when legendary New Zealand batsman Brendon “Baz” McCullum blazing century The men’s Indian Premier League (IPL) was set right from the opening match.
Last week saw the breaking of the long-awaited glass ceiling in terms of Indian women cricketers who now have the same chance to claim franchise T20 riches as the men did 15 years ago. And that’s why the fast-growing WPL is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
The road ahead for the league remains long-term in not only improving the on-field product but also planning behind the scenes to make itself a viable rather than a short-term phenomenon.
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silencing the sexist skeptics
Women’s cricket in India, like the wider history of the game globally, has been associated with institutionally segregated and misogynistic attitudes, however absurd they may be. Payment Made for women’s domestic cricket talent or mere “Ostentatious love” towards the women’s game by the previous BCCI administration.
Women’s cricket administration at the world level merged with its male counterpart in 2005 and the Women’s Cricket Association of India merged with the BCCI the following year, but the game’s progress was slow in the decade that followed.
It was as recently as 2017 that former cricketer and then BCCI office-bearer Diana Edulji had alleged Former BCCI president N Srinivasan told her that women’s cricket “would not happen” in India if she had.
Two years later, prominent male cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul found themselves in trouble due to jokes and comments made during an appearance on the hit chat show. coffee with karanWhich was considered misogynistic by others including Edulji.
The connection between such incidents and policy-making within the BCCI towards women’s cricket may have appeared tenuous on the surface, but it was also indicative of a general underlying dismissive attitude towards the women’s game, especially after the men’s IPL juggernaut years. Every year kept rolling.
Following the official announcement of the WPL by the BCCI this year, doubts have emerged about the viability of the tournament, this time stemming from established heads of the cricket media. A journalist faced flak on social media when he said that from a business point of view, the tournament should be in T10 instead of T20 format.
Fans and peers argued that the journalist’s approach was not in line with the growing popularity of women’s T20 cricket, as seen in multiple Women’s T20 World Cups, the Women’s Big Bash League as well as the Commonwealth Games.
Read also: Inaugural Women’s Premier League season: How 5 teams stack up…
fix teeth problem
But those who bet big on women’s cricket must have seen the ‘deal’ behind.
Long-term growth as a product, coupled with growth in the metrics of broadcast revenue, as well as the optics of higher attendances, fan engagement and quality of cricket, are all likely to add up for the WPL.
From an auction purse of Rs 12 crore organized by five franchises to a 5-year broadcast deal worth Rs 951 crore bagged by Viacom18, the investments made in WPL have been modest by IPL standards, but significant in the context of the women’s game. Where do you stand today?
While TV and streaming rights holders Sports 18 and Jio Cinema are yet to publish official viewership numbers for the first week of the tournament, the organizers have at times been found keen on the issue of making the game as accessible as possible to fans.
To cut down on travel, infrastructure and logistics costs, all 22 matches of the five-team league are being played at two stadiums in South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The decision may prove prudent, given the league’s first season put together.
However, despite the league providing free admission to women of all ages, attendance has been markedly inconsistent, especially at games not involving the league’s three pre-existing franchises. “home team” Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals.
Not only did the organizers fail to provide the best possible opportunity to allow the franchises to connect with local fans, the attendance also showed compounding Due to the old system, male fans are forced to line up in large numbers to collect physical tickets at the box office located away from the stadium. Official ticketing platform BookMyShow has since claimed Improve Digitized tickets for all matches were issued from 8 March.
Read also: It’s time for the Women’s IPL – it will grow the game and groom talented, ‘ready’ players
One-sided result similar to 2008 IPL
Over two years of cricket matches played during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that lack of or no crowds brings down the onscreen entertainment quotient and leads to a loss in potential gate receipt income for host venues.
Boisterous crowds also disguise games that are otherwise one-sided, forgettable affairs on the field, as was the case with the inaugural 2008 season of the men’s Indian Premier League.
Apart from McCullum’s unbeaten 158 on the opening night of IPL 2008, the enduring memories of that season include the late Shane Warne leading the Rajasthan Royals in the “Manoranjan ka Baap” marketing campaign by broadcaster Sony.
In addition, stadiums remained packed for most matches as fans flocked to watch the world’s top male cricketers, even though the quality of the franchises at the time varied wildly with predictable results.
difference between top and bottom Mark sheet Similar to the iconic Gary Lineker so far in the WPL Citation Cricket should be redone with the line “…and, in the end, Mumbai Indians always win” about the simplicity of football.
A continued trend in these results may deter fans from attending potentially “dead rubber” games in the days leading up to the playoffs. But the responsibility to stop this lies with the franchise owners themselves, especially RCB, so that they can plan better. Recruitment and squad development in next year’s auction.
Considering these organizational flaws, the WPL has been at least a modest success so far. The rest of this season and the reactions behind the on-field product will determine whether UP Warriors captain and Australia wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy is a “gamechanger”. label Will prove to be true in the long run.
(Editing by Anurag Choubey)