Women’s IPL: BCCI to allow 5 foreign players in Playing XI, says report – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the inaugural season of the Women’s IPL will allow teams to include five foreign players in the playing XI, Cricbuzz reported. The board has done a slight modification in the rule of the men’s IPL where only four overseas players are allowed to be fielded. However, there is a clause. For the WIPL 2023, at least one player from an associate nation should be there among the five foreign players.

“The teams will have the option of fielding five foreign players as long as the fifth player is from an Associate nation,” a source told the website.

The associate countries are recognised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and there are currently 99 members in the category. According to the official website of the ICC, “Associate Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, countries associated for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, which does not qualify as a Full Member, but where cricket is firmly established and organised.”

In another move regarding the WIPL, the BCCI is set to fix the salary cap for the opening edition at Rs 12 crore. In the following four years, the fund size will increase by Rs 1.5 crore annually, reaching Rs 18 crore by the end of the initial five-year cycle. Furthermore, the board will mandate that in the five-team league, there is no provision for the icon players.

The league’s prize money for the WIPL will be total Rs 10 crore for the players, among which Rs 6 crore for the champion team, and Rs 3 crore for the runner-up side. The team that finishes third will receive Rs 1 crore. Notably, the entire player prize money is to be dispersed amongst the cricketers only.

Recently, Viacom 18 purchased the media rights for the 2023-27 cycle of the WIPL for a whopping price of Rs 950 crore. On 25 January, the board is expected to unveil the names of the five franchises for the first three editions, following a closed bidding process. Though there is no official announcement made revealing the exact date of the competition, WIPL 2023 is likely to be held from 4 to 26 March.

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