The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has been the single most transformative force in revolutionizing and changing the Landscape of women’s sports in India.

Indian women’s cricket quality was not at par with teams like Australia, England, or New Zealand (Big 3) in the past.  They were slow and the team lacked eleven quality players who could meet international standards.

With Men’s cricket at its peak in popularity, it was surprising that women’s cricket was not as popular.

With time, women’s cricket showed signs of improvement. BCCI took proactive steps to support women’s cricket in India by creating exclusive coaching and administrative teams to provide the much-needed push for improvement.

This much-needed support proved to create a huge positive impact on women’s cricket development and this started the road map to producing more quality players.

Though amongst Asian teams, the Indian women’s team dominates and continues to dominate, it is the coveted ICC trophies that are currently eluding them.

While they have come close to winning the World Championship on more than one occasion, luck seems to have not gone their way yet.

The New Beginning for Indian Women’s Cricket – WPL

The much-awaited women’s franchise cricket league, in similar lines to the Indian Premier League (Men’s IPL) was introduced 3 years ago. This was named the Women’s Premier League.

Even with a head start for Australia and England through the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and The Hundred Women’s competition, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has quickly become the best women’s franchise league tournament in the world.

With World Class Players from various cricket-playing nations participating in the league, the league garnered a huge fan following and became an immediate overnight success similar to the Indian Premier League.

With the WPL, the quality of women’s cricket has improved threefold, providing a professional platform for female athletes.

The advantage of having a rich cricketing board, the BCCI also kept equality in the sport by making Female cricketers earn fees comparable to their male counterparts

In the past, female cricketers struggled financially, making it difficult to pursue cricket full-time. Many had to take up alternate professions to sustain themselves.

In the past, female cricketers found it financially difficult to take sports on a full-time basis and often pursued other professions, but today, financial stability has allowed women’s cricket to be considered a professional choice for many.

Also Read: Women’s Premier League 2025 | Teams | Schedule I Where to watch | Live Streaming

Women’s Premier League 2025 Auction Highlights

In the just concluded mini-auction, Rs 1.90 crore for batter Simran Shaikh, Rs 1.70 crore for all-rounder Deandra Dottin, and Rs 1.60 crore to 16-year-old wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini goes on to prove that women’s cricket is becoming as lucrative as the men’s game.

• Simran Shaikh was sold for Rs 1.90 crore
• All-rounder Deandra Dottin was bought for Rs 1.70 crore
• 16-year-old wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini fetched Rs 1.60 crore

By defending their U19 World Cup Title, many more players from the U19 World Cup squad are expected to be picked up as replacements before the tournament begins.

The Cultural Shift Brought by WPL – Smriti Mandhana

The Women’s Premier League (WPL 2025) has triggered a huge cultural change in women’s sports in India. The global interest in women’s sports has improved significantly.

As a result, more and more women’s sports academies are opening across the country providing better infrastructure, training, and opportunities for young female athletes.

With sold-out stadiums and an increasing fan base, women’s cricket in India has finally reached mainstream popularity.

WPL Increases the Influence of Women Athletes in Indian Sports

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Smriti Mandhana shared her views on the Women’s Premier League  and its impact on women’s sports in India.

“The IPL has done a lot for men’s cricket, and it’s like wow, the WPL can do something similarly to women’s cricket. Similarly, it will be inspiring to witness stories like these (WPL) coming from across other disciplines as well,” she added.

Her statement highlights how the WPL’s impact is not only limited to cricket but also influences women’s participation in various sports in India.