Deferred legitimacy
Media discourse and the construction of sporting recognition in India's Women's Premier League (WPL)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24237712 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R Abish Jebeshy (0009-0007-4538-2734, Central University of Tamil Nadu), Geetha BJ (0000-0002-4281-6572, Central University of Tamil Nadu), Selvam A (Central University of Tamil Nadu) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-21 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Review for the Sociology of Sport (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1012-6902 • E-ISSN: 1461-7218 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10126902261496470 |
| OpenAlex | W7223091675 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
The launch of the Women's Premier League (WPL) has been widely celebrated as a transformative moment for women's cricket in India, reflecting broader shifts in the commercialization and visibility of women's sport. While existing scholarship often treats increased media visibility as evidence of growing legitimacy, this article argues that legitimacy itself requires closer examination. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis, the study examines promotional campaigns, sports journalism, institutional communications, athlete interviews, and digital commentary surrounding the WPL between 2023 and 2026. The analysis demonstrates that media discourse constructs legitimacy through four interconnected processes: historical rupture, commercial empowerment, conditional recognition, and what this article conceptualizes as deferred legitimacy. Rather than granting women's cricket unconditional recognition, media narratives repeatedly make sustained legitimacy conditional upon future expectations of audience growth, commercial sustainability, and institutional success. By introducing deferred legitimacy, the article extends feminist sport-media scholarship beyond questions of visibility to examine how recognition is discursively produced, regulated, and continually postponed within contemporary sport-media culture.
Gender, Feminism, and Media · Physical Education and Sports Studies · Sports, Gender, and Society
Beyond the Boundary
‘ I think I could see the turning point … people just came for good cricket ’
Sporting Females
“We’ve … had to Make Ourselves more Visible Because … the Media hasn’t Done it for us”
One and Done
Power in the Reverberation
Reflections on Communication and Sport
It’s Boom Time! (Again)
Postfeminist media culture
Female athletes' self-representation on social media
Manufacturing Dreams and Investing in Future Generations
Media Coverage of Emergent Women’s Leagues Within Mainstream Sports
The Indian Women’s Premier League
Rethinking Recognition
Breaking New Ground
Empowered
The Hundred
| Highly cited | No |
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