WPL 2026 FAQs: There is going to be a wave of excitement once again in the world of women’s cricket, because the fourth season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is about to start in 2026. After the mega auction, there have been major changes in the teams, while some teams have also appointed new captains and many rising stars are ready to show their talent on the field. This season is special in many ways, because for the first time it is being played in the January-February window.
When will WPL 2026 start?
The league will begin on January 9, 2026, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore. A total of 22 matches will be played in the season, in which the first 11 matches will be played in Navi Mumbai and the remaining 11 matches, including the eliminator and final, will be played at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. The final will be played in Vadodara on 5 February. This time there will also be double header matches, which will be held in Navi Mumbai on 10 and 17 January. This had never been seen before in the Women’s Premier League.
Matches will be played in these cities
Talking about venues, this season matches are being held in only two cities, because the rest of the stadiums are booked for tournaments like T20 World Cup and Ranji Trophy. The franchises wanted a home-and-away format, but this time it was not possible.
These teams changed captains
This time many changes have been seen in the teams. The command of Delhi Capitals is now in the hands of Jemimah Rodrigues. On the other hand, UP Warriors has made Meg Lanning the captain. Mumbai Indians will defend the title under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur. At the same time, star players like Elise Perry and Annabel Sutherland have been out of the season due to personal reasons. On the other hand, everyone is going to keep an eye on some new players. In which Delhi Capitals’ Liezel Lee, who was in great form in the recent WBBL, and 16-year-old uncapped batsman Diya Yadav. Mumbai Indians’ Millie Illingworth, who bowls fast, is also in the news.
Where will you be able to watch WPL 2026 matches?
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 matches will be telecast in India on Star Sports Network and streaming will be available on JioHotstar. At the same time, it can be seen on different platforms in other countries.
Rules for playing 11
Talking about the rules, a team can have a maximum of 4 foreign players in its playing 11. At the same time, if a team includes a player from an associate country in the playing-11, then they also have the facility to field 5 foreign players.
Prize money for the team that wins the season
In the last season of the Women’s Premier League, the champion team was given a reward of Rs 6 crore. In such a situation, this time also the team that wins the title can get the same amount of prize money. The runner-up team is also given Rs 3 crore. At the same time, prize money is also given to the best batsman, best bowler, player of the tournament, player with most sixes and best strike rate.
Complete schedule of WPL 2026
- January 9, Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Navi Mumbai
- January 10, UP Warriors vs Gujarat Giants, Navi Mumbai
- January 10, Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, Navi Mumbai
- January 11, Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants, Navi Mumbai
- January 12, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs UP Warriors, Navi Mumbai
- January 13, Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants, Navi Mumbai
- January 14, UP Warriors vs Delhi Capitals, Navi Mumbai
- January 15, Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriors, Navi Mumbai
- January 16, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Giants, Navi Mumbai
- January 17, UP Warriors vs Mumbai Indians, Navi Mumbai
- January 17, Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Navi Mumbai
- January 19, Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Vadodara
- January 20, Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians, Vadodara
- 22 January, Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriors, Vadodara
- January 24, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals, Vadodara
- January 26, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, Vadodara
- 27 January, Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals, Vadodara
- January 29, UP Warriors vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Vadodara
- 30 January, Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians, Vadodara
- 1 February, Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriors, Vadodara
- 3 February, Eliminator, Vadodara
- 5th February, Final, Vadodara
Squads of all teams of WPL 2026
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Nate Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajna Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vashishtha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaq, Millie Illingworth.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Woll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Lynsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Pratyosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha, Sayali Satghare.
Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner (captain), Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh Thakur, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashi Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwar, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danny Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Ayushi Soni.
UP Warriors: Meg Lanning (captain), Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaur, Asha Shobhana, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Chloe Tryon, Suman Meena, G Trisha, Pratika Rawal, Charlie Knott.
Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues (captain), Shafali Verma, Marjean Kapp, Nikki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Shree Charani, Sneh Rana, Lizelle Lee, Dia Yadav, Tania Bhatia, Mamta Madiwala, Nandini Sharma, Lucy Hamilton, Minnu Mani, Alana King.