Why is SRH not part of the Women's Premier League (WPL)?

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) were earlier among the seven teams that formally showed interest in buying a Women's Premier League (WPL) franchise. However, the Orange Army will not feature in the inaugural WPL season this year.

The BCCI organized the auction to sell the five franchises of the Women's Premier League earlier today. Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), Adani Group, and Capri Global emerged as the five successful bidders for the WPL teams.

MI, RCB and DC bought the respective franchises for Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. While Ahmedabad went to the Adani Group, the Lucknow franchise was sold to Capri Global. There will be no team from Hyderabad in the inaugural WPL season.

Cricbuzz had reported that SunRisers Hyderabad bought the Invitation To Tender (ITT) and showed interest in bidding for the WPL teams as well. However, owners of SRH, Sun TV group, seemingly failed to match the winning bids for the five franchises.

The most expensive franchise was Team Ahmedabad, which was bought by the Adani Group for ₹1,289 crore. Capri Global bid the lowest amount among the five winners as they bought the Lucknow franchise for ₹757 crore.

The official reason behind SunRisers Hyderabad's absence from the winning list is not yet known, but one can assume that the Sun TV group bid a figure less than ₹757 crore.

SRH could expand their fanbase by buying a WPL team in future

SunRisers Hyderabad fans were disappointed when the team owners could not secure a franchise in the WPL. The Orange Army recently expanded to South Africa by buying the SunRisers Eastern Cape franchise, and they could do the same in the future in the Women's Premier League.

The BCCI recently increased the number of teams in the men's IPL from eight to 10. If they introduce new franchises in the WPL, SRH can purchase the Hyderabad-based team in the tournament.