This statement is not hyperbole as the first ever auction of the WPL changed women’s sport forever and to those who say that money is not that important then they are lying to others and to themselves because one should ask the players who were sold for so much money , amounts that they took years to generate in spite of playing so well. The Women’s Premier League is historic and it will benefit women across all sports.
So, let’s look at the massive impacts that the Women’s Premier League will have and how it will change the women’s sport forever as has been said by all the cricket experts.
The Money in Women’s sport will be higher than ever before
Even before a ball was bowled in the Women’s Premier League the league was already the second biggest T20 league in the world only after the Men’s IPL and also it became the biggest women’s League competition in the world, more valuable than the WNBA. And the money that the players got in the auction was not seen in women’s sport before leaving cricket. Even Women’s football does not earn this much salary for most of their players. For example Smriti Mandhana, Ash Gardener and Natalie Sciver Brunt are some of the highest paid women athletes in the world. And from now the other leagues such as WBBL or The Hundred will have to significantly improve their finances.
The exposure will be massive and the pressure enormous
Now the Women’s cricketers will be under the same pressure that the Men’s players go through in the Men’s IPL over the years as thousands watch them in the stadiums and multiple millions watch them on digital. And they will be under pressure from the fans of the franchises and the owners to perform and do well consistently or else they will be released. The other women’s sports where the level of exposure is not the same will also be motivated to give them the same level of exposure. Now these women will be in the spotlight and it will be make or break.
The effects of the Women’s Premier League will be felt after a few years
The true effects of the Women’s Premier League will truly be felt after a few years the league is on for and is played. This first year the players will be emotional and they will be nervous especially the ones who have not played that much international cricket. In the next few years when the salaries will rise and there will be mini auctions every year and the players get more money, the other sports such as Football, Basketball, Hockey etc will have to give the same level of importance to their women players. And when the WPL is 3 years old then a few new teams could be added based on the success and thus more players will get the chance to play in this league.
