Brand Support Grows for WPL After India's World Cup Win

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 8 January 2026

• The Women's Premier League (WPL) is about to enter its most profitable year ever!
• The commercial growth model for women's cricket in India has been accelerated since the Indian women's cricket team won the World Cup

The Women's Premier League (WPL) is all set for its most profitable season so far. This also marks the increase in the popularity of women's cricket in the Indian market after the successful World Cup triumph of the Indian women's international cricket team.

However, the BCCI-backed T20 league of women's cricket franchises is finding many more advertisers coming forward for the fourth season of the league, which begins on Friday.

Cosmetics and jewelry companies like Lakme, L’Oréal, De Beers, and PC Jeweller have also joined the league as sponsors, even though they did not have any existence during the previous seasons.

This rise in the number of participants has also been accompanied by an increasingly diverse viewership, which now includes an increasing number of female supporters who tune in to the league to witness the thrilling encounters of women’s cricket being shown through the World Cup events.

Jinisha Sharma, Director at Capri Sports, owner of the UP Warriorz franchise, said revenues from central and team sponsorships of the WPL have reached an inflection point.

"The momentum partly came from the World Cup victory in November, which enthused brands to invest early in women's cricket where competition for visibility is relatively less," she said. Brands like BKT and Lakme not associated with women's cricket hitherto have also joined the sponsorship ecosystem.

Industry estimates indicate that the combined revenues from team and central sponsorship revenues could be in the region of ₹ 120 crore this season.

The average revenue for each of the five franchises is expected to be around ₹ 10-12 crore, though some teams are likely to do better.

Separately, the BCCI has secured new sponsorship deals with ChatGPT, Bisleri and Kingfisher Packaged Drinking Water, together valued at ₹ 48 crore for the next two seasons.

A representative from the Mumbai Indians has reported that the team is expecting high double-digit growth in the area of sponsorships for this season based on interest from established and new brands alike.

The viewership of WPL has increased more than twice in two years, touching 325 million in 2025, up from 152 million in the first season in 2023, as per figures released by JioStar, which is the official rights partner.

JioStar, which acquired media rights of WPL in a deal of ₹951 crore in a five-year term ending in 2027, has seen a huge response from advertisers too, acquiring 15 partners. “The upcoming 2026 season is a major achievement in women’s cricket in terms of scalability as well as commercial expansion,” remarked Anup Govindan, Head of Sports Sales, JioStar.