For the first time in the history of cricket, a new enterprise mimicking that of the NBA, NFL, and other competitive sports leagues across the world was launched in India in 2008, with player auctions and trades in full swing on an international level. This was the Indian Premier League (IPL). The name is based on Soccer’s English Premier League. IPL quickly became the most attended cricket league in the world and by 2014 was ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports leagues. Players worldwide fiercely compete in IPL auctions and trades for a spot. At present, the IPL is valued at US $6.3 billion as a brand, with four of its franchises – Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders – valued at approximately US $100 million or more.
In 2018, the women’s version of IPL called the “Women’s T20 Challenge” was launched beginning with three teams. Plans to rebrand the tournament as Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) and expand the franchise to 7-8 teams within the next year (2023) is underway. If this materializes, it will become one of the (if not the most) significant feat for women’s sports in India, in addition to being the first of its kind offering opportunities for women’s cricketers from other countries.
The three current Women’s T20 Challenge teams are Supernovas, Trailblazers, and Velocity. Unfortunately, none of the teams currently represent any specific cities in India, although we hope this changes in the future to bring them in line with men’s IPL. Supernovas are the only team to have won the WIPL thrice.
The following table represents a short winner/runner-up statistic of the Women’s T20 Challenge. Post the rebranding, a new table will be inserted here with the launch of the WIPL.
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*The 2018 Women’s T20 Challenge was a one-off exhibition match. As such, there was no “Player of the Series” award. This was also the only year when the “Player of the Final” award was granted to a member of the losing side. Thus, the award recipient’s team is specifically indicated in abbreviated form only for this year.
**A Women’s T20 Challenge was to be held in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It coincided with the Men’s IPL playoffs instead, in 2022.