At 150 Rupees, the WPL Is Selling Something Rare: Serious Cricket

The Women’s Premier League (WPL), which began on January 9, was launched with an ambitious promise: to build a dazzling tournament that could match the rising popularity and public support for India’s women cricketers. What it has delivered so far, at least inside the stadiums, is something even rarer, an atmosphere where cricket itself is the main attraction.

A ₹150 ticket does not usually inspire high expectations. Cheap tickets often come with assumptions: a noisy, unserious crowd, distracted spectators, or worse, trolling and casual misogyny. But the WPL crowd has quietly dismantled these clichés.

Inside the stands, the conversations are about cricket, field placements, batting technique, momentum shifts, bowling changes. Players are discussed as players, not as women cricketers. There is no novelty gaze, no patronising applause. There is seriousness, curiosity and, above all, respect.

Perhaps the most striking thing is what is missing: there is no booing, no heckling, no gendered commentary. The crowd watches the game as the game, not as a social experiment.

One Thing That Hasn’t Changed Yet

Some habits, however, linger.

In matches like Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, chants for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma still break out, names that echo through Indian stadiums regardless of who is actually playing on the field. You also spot fans wearing men’s team jerseys. Many probably own just one jersey and see no reason to buy another for the same franchise.

The loyalty to male cricketers is visible and unsurprising. Indian cricket fandom has been built around these icons for over a decade. What is surprising — and encouraging — is that this nostalgia does not overshadow the players on the pitch.

When a batter times a cover drive or a bowler nails a yorker, the crowd responds instantly. Cheers are earned through performance, not reputation. The applause is loud, instinctive, and fair. The spotlight, for once, does not drift.

₹150 Tickets: The Quiet Game Changer

The affordability of WPL tickets may turn out to be its most radical feature.

At ₹150, the stadium opens up to students, families, first-time fans and casual observers. The barrier to entry is low, but the quality of engagement is high. This isn’t charity viewing; it’s genuine consumption of sport. People are not attending because it is “important” to support women’s cricket, they are attending because it is good cricket, played at a competitive level, in a serious league.

For young girls in the stands, the impact is immeasurable. For parents bringing children along, the message is subtle but powerful: this is not a different game, just the same one played by different athletes.

The WPL does not need to be sold as an alternative or a cause. Its strongest argument lies in the stands, where fans debate strike rotation and bowling spells, where players are judged by form rather than fame, and where a ₹150 ticket buys access not just to a match, but to a future cricket culture that feels more inclusive, more grounded, and refreshingly normal.

If this is the direction Indian cricket fandom is taking, the WPL may end up doing something the men’s game has struggled with in recent years, putting the sport itself back at the centre.

And that alone makes it worth watching.