Picture Credit: Twitter
Capri Global-owned Women’s Premier League franchise will be called Lucknow Warriors, the owners have confirmed. Bought for a whopping INR 757 Cr, the franchise will be based out of Lucknow. This will be the fourth sports franchise and second cricket franchise owned by Capri Global. They already have Sharjah Warriors as one of the franchises in the International League T20. Apart from these two, there are Bengal Warriors in Pro Kabaddi League and Rajasthan Warriors in Ultimate Kho Kho.
Coming back to the WPL franchise, Capri Global were one of the five successful bidders for the five teams of the inaugural edition of the league. They had been in the race for an IPL team as well but lost out to the CVC Capital and the RPSG group last year. However, Capri did not err this time and placed a huge bid of INR 757 Cr to bag the ownership of one of the five teams.
“We are extremely proud to be a part of this historic moment in cricket, especially in being able to extend our support to some of the tremendously talented women in sports. Our aim is to provide inspiration to athletes and women in all walks of life, while breaking stereotypes,” said Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global.
“This association with WPL has been strategic in achieving our vision of encouraging Sports and establishing a deeper connection with our stakeholders and customers. Given its history in India, we believe cricket is the most natural way to advance that vision,” he added.
Earlier, Adani Sportsline-owned team in the Women's Premier League was named Gujarat Giants. The franchise will be based out of Ahmedabad. Gujarat Giants also announced the appointment of Mithali Raj as the team's mentor.
Coming to the inaugural edition of the WPL, it is slated to begin in the first week of March. Meanwhile, the player auction is touted to take place in the second week of February.