Women’s version of the IPL begins 4 March

Women's Premier League cricket

Sky Sports has picked up the rights to the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League. 

The women’s version of the Indian Premier League, it will feature several England cricketers, including Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone. It begins 4 March and runs for 22 days, with five city-based teams battling for the title - Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Lucknow. Coverage will be available on Sky Sports Cricket.

Every team plays the other four twice in a round-robin group stage, with the top three progressing to the play-off stage. The league winners automatically reach the 26 March final, and the second and third-place teams will compete in an eliminator to decide the other team.

The league has seen a game-changing amount of money put into the women’s game, with Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone sold for £320,000 and £180,000 respectively, Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner for £320,000, Smriti Mandhana for £340,000, and Deepti Sharma for £259,000.

Before this season, Sky Sports has also shown the men’s version, the IPL, but recent reports have linked DAZN and ITV with a successful joint bid for that competition.