CHENNAI: With the inaugural edition of the Women's IPL set to happen in March 2023, the BCCI has decided to have an auction for the players. In a "guidance notes for the players" shared by the BCCI with the state associations, accessed by this daily, the board has asked the players who are keen on taking part in the tournament to register themselves online for the auction before 5 PM on January 26.
The capped players can register themselves at any reserve price — the minimum league fee — between Rs 30-50 lakh while uncapped players will be between Rs 10 & 20 lakh. The guidance notes are specified only for Indian players. Although the dates for the auction or the tournament haven't been announced yet, the BCCI has said in the letter that the auction will be in February and the actual tournament will begin in the first week of March and will end in less than a month. The interesting bit though is that, unlike the bids for the media rights and acquisition and operation of the teams, the document calls the tournament as 2023 Women’s T20 League and not the Women's Indian Premier League.
"The Women’s T20 League franchises will select from the Auction Register those players to be included in the list for the player auction. Those players will then be presented for auction. Note that a Women’s T20 League franchise is not under any obligation to bid for those players that it selected for the Auction List," stated the directive.
The process of the auction seems similar to that of the longstanding men's IPL version. If the registered players did not get picked in the auction, they still have a chance if they are entered into the Registered Available Player Pool as a replacement player. But for that, the players have to register themselves under the deemed deadlines. "If you are not taken during the 2023 Women’s T20 League Player Auction and have been entered onto the RAPP list, you will have a second chance (subject to the Women’s T20 League Player Regulations) to be picked up by a Women’s T20 League franchise – after the 2023 Women’s T20 League Player Auction – as a replacement for an already contracted player who is unavailable for all or part of the 2023 season," the BCCI said in the directive.