BCCI awards Laqshya Media Group exclusive mandate for Tata WPL 2026

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has awarded Laqshya Media Group the exclusive mandate for the Tata Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, mid-innings match entertainment and fan engagement, placing one agency in charge of shaping the tournament’s entire in-stadium experience across all 22 matches.

The appointment comes at a significant moment for women’s cricket in India. Tata WPL 2026 is the first major tournament since India’s victory at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, and the league will be positioned as the country’s first opportunity to welcome its World Champions back to competitive play. Against that backdrop, Laqshya Media Group’s brief extends beyond event execution to building a sustained atmosphere that connects national sporting success with live spectator experience.

According to the plan outlined, the WPL season is being framed as a continuous ‘Victory Lap’, with in-stadium programming designed to carry the emotional afterglow of the World Cup win through the tournament. The objective is to turn each venue into what the organisers describe as a celebration space, reinforcing the status of women cricketers as central cultural figures rather than niche sporting heroes.

The league will open with a ceremony featuring Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, while the closing ceremony is set to include a performance by Yo Yo Honey Singh. These bookend events are intended to establish scale and mainstream visibility, a familiar tactic in Indian sports properties seeking to broaden their appeal beyond core cricket audiences.

More notable, however, is the introduction of what Laqshya Media Group calls a ‘High-Frequency Engagement’ model. For the first time in the WPL, every match will feature mid-innings concerts, with live performances during the break. The format signals an attempt to treat each fixture as a self-contained entertainment property rather than relying solely on marquee matches to drive buzz.

The engagement plan also incorporates a mix of technology-led and traditional elements, including synchronised drone shows, laser arrays and ‘Murmuration’ activities, alongside live brass bands and on-ground fan activations. The combination suggests an effort to balance global sports-entertainment aesthetics with local cultural cues, a strategy increasingly visible across Indian sporting events.

Beyond the stadiums, the mandate includes a nationwide visibility push. Leveraging its presence in out-of-home media, Laqshya Media Group has rolled out large-format digital and static branding across major cities, state capitals and airports. The intent, according to the strategy outlined, is to pull the WPL out of the sports pages and embed it into everyday public spaces, particularly with an eye on younger audiences.

The larger ambition is social as much as commercial: to normalise women’s cricket as a daily reference point and encourage young women to see themselves reflected in the sport. Whether that translates into sustained viewership, participation and brand interest will be closely watched by marketers tracking the long-term viability of women-led sports properties.

Commenting on the association, Alok Jalan, CMD, Laqshya Media Group, said, “India is a country where sport is not just watched; it is deeply felt. At Laqshya, our focus is on building meaningful, scalable sporting experiences that go far beyond one tournament or one season. The Women’s Premier League is a defining moment for women’s sport in India, and we are committed to creating platforms, visibility, and fan engagement models that will continue to elevate Indian sport for years to come.”