The success and exponential growth of the IPL is unprecedented in the Indian history of sport. Turning an already beloved sport into an intense and endlessly fun three-and-a-half-hour entertainment package has been a definitive moment for India and has tapped into the audience’s interests perfectly. The BCCI now has a ready-made formula for guaranteed profits every year that has helped them dominate the cricket world. Our country finds emerging talents, cricket improves and everyone is happy. But all this stands true for men’s cricket. What about women’s cricket? That’s where the WPL comes in.
With BCCI (hopefully) having the agenda of getting the women cricketers the audience they deserve, what better way than to use an already established brand of IPL to make a league format that provides the same entertainment package but by the women cricketers all around the globe? This is exactly what they did, and the results have been great, with viewership for women’s matches on a steady rise and the interest being built.
A problem that seems to be relevant now is the lack of awareness that audiences have that the WPL is currently going on. People associate the IPL with the summer in India and know when to expect and look out for the beginning of the IPL, as it always takes place at this time of the year (barring the Covid era). But the WPL started in February and will end closely before the summer, which will unfortunately result in a lot of eyeballs completely missing out on the WPL. If both leagues are played together, will it solve this problem? Let’s look at the avenues of a decision like this.
The pros of something like this are pretty straightforward; people could simply turn up to the streaming platforms and notice that a women’s match is going on, take interest and watch the game. It would mean a lot of people who would’ve missed out on the WPL to watch these games, and it would be a genuine tap-in into the vast and diverse audience of the IPL. The league would see exponential growth and women’s cricket would be the greatest benefactor. The dedicated fan bases of established teams like RCB and MI could flock right over to the women’s teams of the same brand, and if the BCCI keeps both men’s and women’s matches on the same day, it could lead to double excitement, comparisons and dedicated following. People would be abreast of both leagues and WPL could reach the fame IPL has in less time.
But this is where the birds stop singing. All this sounds great, but it may essentially end up being no less than a pipe dream. As much as we could deny it, the deep-rooted sexism in not just India, but throughout the world would mean a lot of people would stay away from these games even if they could entertain them. Plus, the women’s game runs at a much lower intensity due to the unfortunate disparity between the average male vs female body, and this may lead the average viewer of the fast-paced IPL to not find the same interest in the WPL. Now, this wouldn’t be an issue with WPL’s current schedule as it was before the IPL, but if it is played simultaneously with the IPL, the majority of people would simply pick the IPL over the WPL. This could not only destroy the dream of getting IPL fans to the WPL, but it might mean the audiences that watch WPL now may choose to just watch the IPL, as they’re going on at the same time. The IPL has been around for over a decade and even if someone genuinely wants to watch the WPL, the IPL interests them more and has been their go-to for years, so it may diminish the current viewership by a large extent.
In conclusion, the cons outweigh the pros by a good margin, simply because the pros can be achieved eventually. Over time, the fan bases will cherish both men’s and women’s teams, and the growth of WPL clearly shows that this is the direction that it is going in. To try and completely cash into IPL’s brand by broadcasting side-by-side may derail their progress, as the primary brand will always be the IPL. The WPL has made significant strides, but it may fall if it flies too close to the blazing sun of the IPL
