The 2026 Women’s Premier League (also known as WPL 2026) will be the fourth season of the Women’s Premier League, a women’s franchise Twenty 20 cricket league organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The tournament, featuring five teams, is scheduled to take place from 9 January to 5 February 2026. A mega auction for the season was held on 27 November 2025 in New Delhi. Additional reports confirmed the auction date and other details, including venues and streaming information.

🏏 WPL 2026 auction done 🏏

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 mega auction was held on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in New Delhi. A total of 67 players were sold to the five franchises, with teams spending a combined ₹ 40.80 crore.

Auction Summary

Most Expensive Player: India all-rounder Deepti Sharma was the top buy, re-acquired by UP Warriorz for ₹3.20 crore via the Right to Match (RTM) option.

Total Players Sold: 67 players, including 23 overseas players.

Notable Unsold Players: Star international players like Australian captain Alyssa Healy and England’s Heather Knight, and Alana King went unsold.

Key Decisions: Teams used the first-ever WPL mega auction to significantly reshape their squads, with an emphasis on current form and a balance of experienced international and domestic talent.

WPL MATCH VENUE

The 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be held across two venues in India: Navi Mumbai and Vadodara.

The tournament will follow a caravan format :

● Navi Mumbai The DrDrY Patil Stadium will host the first 11 matches of the season, from January 9 to January 17, 2026.

● Vadodara: he remaining 11 matches, including the Eliminator and the Final, will be played at the BCA Stadium (Kotambi Stadium) from January 19 to February 5, 2026.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The five teams participating in the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) are :

☆ Mumbai Indians (MI)

☆ Delhi Capitals (DC)

☆ Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

☆ UP Warrior (UPW)

☆ Gujarat Giants (GG)

WPL MATCH SCHEDULES

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 is scheduled to run from January 9 to February 5, 2026. The matches will be played across two venues: the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

● Navi Mumbai Leg (January 9-17)

The Navi Mumbai leg includes matches from January 9 to January 17, featuring all five teams. Key matches include the opening game between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on January 9, and two matches on January 10 and January 17, with one afternoon and one evening fixture each.

● Vadodara Leg & Playoffs (January 19-February 5)

The tournament then moves to Vadodara from January 19 to February 5. This leg will host the remaining league stage matches as well as the playoffs. The Eliminator is scheduled for February 3, followed by the Final on February 5.

Note: Matches not designated as ‘Afternoon’ are evening games. Evening matches typically start at 7:30 PM local time, while afternoon matches begin at 3:30 PM local time.

INFORMATION ABOUT WPL

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is a professional women’s Twenty 20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2022, it features five city-based franchise teams. The WPL is one of the most successful cricket leagues in the world. The first season in 2023 saw the Mumbai Indians win the inaugural title. Matches took place in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, with 5 franchises participating. The second season in 2024 saw the Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning the title. Matches were hosted in Bengaluru and Delhi. The third season in 2025 featured the Mumbai Indians reclaiming the title after defeating the Delhi Capitals by 8 runs at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. Matches were hosted in Bengaluru, Lucknow, Mumbai and Vadodara.

🤔 How was WPL established?

The WPL was founded in 2023 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to provide a professional platform for women’s cricket in India, inspired by the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI first announced its intention to create the league in October 2022, and a closed bidding process for the five initial franchise teams took place in January 2023.

● Inspiration: The WPL was created to replicate the successful franchise model of the men’s IPL and to give women cricketers greater financial protection, exposure, and resources.

● Predecessor: It followed the success of the smaller Women’s T20 Challenge, which ran from 2018.

● Establishment: The BCCI officially announced the league’s name, the Women’s Premier League, in January 2023.

● Franchise acquisition: Investors bought the rights to five franchise teams through a closed bidding process in the same month.

● Inaugural season: The first season took place in March 2023.

Key Details

◇ Established: Founded in 2022, the first season was held in 2023.

◇ Format: The tournament uses a double round-robin league format followed by playoffs. The top-ranked team goes straight to the final, while the second and third-placed teams play an Eliminator to determine the other finalist.

◇ Teams: The league currently features five city-based franchise teams: Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), UP Warrior (UPW), Gujarat Giants (GG)

◇ Current Champion: Mumbai Indians (as of the 2025 season)

◇ Most Successful Team: Mumai Indians with two titles (2023 and 2025).

History

The first major women’s Twenty 20 competition in India was the Women’s T20 Challenge. This started as a single-match tournament in 2018, and was expanded to a three-team, three-match competition held in 2019, 2020 and 2022..In February 2022, then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced plans to establish a women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the major men’s Twenty20 franchise cricket competition in India, replacing the Women’s T20 Challenge.

By August plans w, plans were more advanced, and, October the B, the BCCII announced that they were considering a five-team tournament, which would take place in March 2023. This league was informally known as the Women’s Indian Premier League; then BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the BCCI officially named it the Women’s Premier League.

On 28 January 2023, the BCCI invited bids for the league’s title sponsorship rights until 2027. Tata Group won the bid for an undisclosed amount. Mumbai Indians were the inaugural winners of the tournament, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.

🪩Financial background🪩

The BCCI intends to distribute 80% of the profits from the competition among the franchise owners during the first five years. For the next five seasons, 60% of the profits will be shared, and from seasons 11 to 15, 50% of the profits will be distributed. Additionally, 80% of the revenue from the central licensing rights for the competition will be shared with the franchises. Franchises will also generate revenue through merchandise, ticket sales and advertising.

🎖Player auction🎖

The first auction to purchase players for each franchise was held on 13 February 2023 in Mumbai. Around 1,500 players registered their names. Each franchise had ₹ 12 crore (US$1.4 million) to spend and had to purchase between 15 and 18 players, six of whom could be overseas players.

The base price of an uncapped player at the first auction was between ₹10 lakh (US$12,000) and ₹20 lakh (US$24,000). For capped players, it was between ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) and ₹50 lakh (US$59,000). In future seasons, the purse size for each franchise will be increased by ₹1.5 crore (US$180,000) each year.

In the first auction, a total of ₹59.50 crore (US$7.0 million) was spent to purchase 87 players. Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player purchased in the initial auction; she signed for Royal Challengers Bengaluru for ₹3.4 crore (US$400,000) and was appointed as the team’s captain.

🔉Broadcasting🔉

In January 2023, Viacom18 announced it had acquired the global media rights for TV and digital broadcasts of the tournament. The contract ran for five years and was worth 951 crore. The initial season of the league is being broadcast in India on the Sports18 TV channel and the JioCinema app, both of which are owned by Viacom18.

The first season of the competition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports, in Australia by Fox Sports Australia, in the United States and Canada by Willow TV and in South Africa by SuperSports. In New Zealand, it is aired by Sky Sport, in Malaysia and Hong Kong by Astro Cricket, while in mainland China by Star Sports.

Furthermore, in the Caribbean islands is live on SportsmaxTV. After the Viacom 18 and Disney Star merger in 2025, Star Sports and JioHotstar became the official Television and Digital broadcasters, respectively, in India.

CONCLUSION

The 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) season is scheduled to begin on January 9 and conclude with the final on February 5, 2026. As the tournament has not started yet, there are no results to report, only pre-season information.

Season & Auction Overview

Dates and Venues :

The tournament runs from January 9 to February 5, 2026, across two venues :

Dates and Venues: DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai (league stage) and Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara (remaining league matches, eliminator, and final).

Mega Auction: A mega auction was held on November 27, 2025, in New Delhi to reshuffle team squads.

Top Auction Signing: The most expensive player at the auction was Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma, bought back by UP Warriorz for a record ₹3.20 crore (approximately $380,000 USD) using their Right to Match (RTM) card. New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr was the top overseas buy, returning to the Mumbai Indians for ₹3 crore.

Notable Absences: High-profile international players like Australia’s Alyssa Healy and England’s Heather Knight surprisingly went unsold in the auction.

Defending Champions: Mumbai Indians are the defending champions, having won the WPL 2025 title.

The season promises high-intensity cricket with revamped squads, and the winner will be crowned in Vadodara on February 5, 2026.