Manchester United owners confirm their interest in Women's IPL: Details
Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United, has confirmed his interest in Women's IPL, as reported by Cricbuzz. Glazer, through his holding company Lancer Capital, owns an ILT20 franchise - Desert Vipers. Notably, he had shown interest in buying a franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI will be conducting the first-ever auction for the WIPL franchises on January 25.
Why does this story matter?
Glazer was one of the bidders when IPL expanded to 10 teams in the 2022 edition. Sanjiv Goenka and CVC Capital eventually got the bids for Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, respectively. Interestingly, Glazer had placed a bid worth Rs. 4,125.65 crore for the Ahmedabad-based franchise and Rs. 4,023.99 crore for the Lucknow franchise.
Glazer is very much interested in other cricket-related opportunities
"Having bought into the ILT20, it is natural for us to look into other cricket opportunities around the world, including Women's IPL," Phil Oliver, the CEO of Desert Vipers, told Cricbuzz on Friday. Oliver, however, didn't reveal if Lancer Capital has bought the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document needed for purchasing a franchise. The ITT will be available for purchase till January 21.
ITT has made a lot of headlines
As per Cricbuzz, BCCI recently launched the WIPL franchise ITT. The move has created a lot of buzz, both in the Indian and overseas markets. Notably, over 20 parties are believed to have taken the ITT, including most of the existing IPL franchises and those who missed out on buying an IPL side in 2021.
January 26 deadline for WIPL player auction registration
The squads for the inaugural season of the Women's IPL or 2023 Women's T20 League will be picked via a player auction. As per Cricbuzz, the BCCI has called for both the capped and uncapped cricketers to register online to enter the Player Auction Register. The deadline for this has been set for 5 PM IST on January 26.
Price categories of capped and uncapped
Amongst capped players, there are three 'reverse price' categories - Rs. 50 lakh, Rs. 40 lakh, and Rs. 30 lakh. Notably, this will be the starting point for bidding. Also, the contracted fee of any player for the competition will be the hammer price after the bidding process. For uncapped players, there are two categories of base prices set at 20 and 10 lakh.
Key details regarding the auction
The 'Auction Register' will be shortened by the five yet-to-be-established franchises to form an 'Auction List'. This will then be presented for the bidding. Those players who fail to get picked at the auction but have entered the 'Registered Available Player Pool' will have a second shot at getting picked as replacement player(s).
