WPL 2026 to kick off on January 9, entire tournament to take place at just two venues
The Women's Premier League (WPL) chairman, Jayesh George, confirmed the dates for the upcoming fourth edition of the tournament, with the competition shifting to the January-February window, due to Indian women's team's Australia tour and the men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The 2026 edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will take place from January 9 to February 5, as confirmed by the league chairman Jayesh George at the start of the mega auction on Thursday, November 27. With the Indian women's tour to Australia and the men's T20 World Cup set to take over the February cricketing calendar and most of the broadcasting schedule, the fourth edition of WPL will have a shorter and an advanced window, given that the previous three editions have taken place from mid-February to the first half of March.
The WPL came close to getting the home and away format last year, with four venues - Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai combined hosting the 22 matches; however, it will continue being played in the caravan format. Vadodara's BCA Stadium and home of Indian women's cricket - Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where the Women in Blue won the World Cup final, will host the entire tournament in 28 days.
Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal mentioned in the press conference that the tournament is expected to be played in the home and away format when the sixth team is added.
With the 2026 edition kicking off the new cycle, there was an expectation that the sixth team would be added after three seasons and the iron was also hot with the World Cup win, however, it wasn't to be. However, with the new cycle being of just two years, the sixth new team is most likely to be introduced from the 2028 edition onwards.
Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, will play the first game; however, the full schedule is yet to be unveiled.
The teams started shaping up at the mega auction with the UP Warriorz, coming into the auction with the biggest purse, stealing the show in the first half, with the purchases of Meg Lanning, Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma, while the Delhi Capitals invested heavily in the all-rounders getting Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, apart from the South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt.
Mumbai Indians got their overseas core back, getting Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail back, while Gujarat Giants paid heavily for Sophie Devine in the first bid of the auction. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) invested in the likes of Georgia Voll, Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk and Radha Yadav.