While India and England are engaged in an enthralling 5-match Test series, cricket fans across the country and the world will soon be treated to the second edition of the Women’s Premier League, set to be held in Bengaluru and Delhi this time around.
According to a report by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the WPL reached an audience of more than 50 million in the first week of the 2023 WPL season with the star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore squad attracting the most number of viewers to their television and OTT screens.
For the 2024 WPL season, JioCinema and Sports18 will be airing the league matches in five different languages: English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada with an esteemed commentary panel consisting of Parthiv Patel, Anjum Chopra, Aakash Chopra, Abhinav Mukund, and many others.
This time around, the WPL season will be rivalling the India vs England Test series and the Chappel-Hadlee Trophy between Australia and New Zealand followed by a test series between the two trans-Tasmanian rivals for viewership ratings.
The Bangladesh Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, and the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy will also be played in a similar time frame posing a bigger challenge to the 2024 WPL’s viewership.
With the Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore struggling in the initial edition, it turned out to be a 3-team contest but with both franchises investing highly in the recent auctions and making their squads well-balanced ahead of the 2024 WPL season, it promises to be an exhilarating second season of the franchise league.
WPL 2024 – The New Arrivals
The additions of Kashvee Gautam, bought by the Giants for INR 2 Crore along with Lea Tahuhu and Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce would strengthen the Giants’ squad while RCB has added the likes of Shubha Satheesh, Ekta Bishth and Nadine de Klerk.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians have added Shabnim Ismail while runners-up Delhi Capitals bought Annabel Sutherland and Ashwini Kumari to strengthen a strong squad that covers most bases on paper.
UP Warriorz have signed the promising Vrinda Dinesh for INR 1.3 Crore while Danni Wyatt and Chamari Athapaththu were also signed to strengthen the top order and make up a destructive batting unit.
The 2024 WPL season is expected to bring a revolution in women’s cricket as the viewership numbers are expected to rise while the tournament will be played across two different states in the second edition, unlike the first edition which completely took place in the Greater Mumbai area in Maharashtra.
If the second edition of the franchise league prospers, we might witness a home and away league stage next season onwards as having a league in a single base state or in two states always poses a challenge to the teams whose local fans are unable to support their favourites sides and also affects the gate sales at the stadiums.