Cricket-Women's IPL franchises fetch $572 million for Indian board

FILE PHOTO: The shadow of a man falls on a backdrop with the logo of the India's cricket board BCCI before the start of a news conference to announce its cricket team's coach, in Mumbai, India, August 16, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The world's most affluent cricket board, India, got further richer by $572.72 million after unveiling five franchises for an Indian Premier League-style T20 tournament for the women on Wednesday.

Since 2018, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has been staging a three-team Women's T20 Challenge along side the hugely popular IPL for the men and faced demands to start a full-fledged women's tournament.