The WPL 2026 starts on January 9, featuring five teams across 24 matches in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. Defending champions Mumbai Indians face 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Here’s a complete guide to format, schedule, venues, and squads.
The fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League will kickstart on Friday, January 9, with the defending champions Mumbai Indians locking horns with the 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Mumbai and Bengaluru are the only teams to have won the WPL titles, with the former winning twice in 2022 and 2023.
The five teams, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, and UP Warriorz, will vie for supremacy across a 24-match season, including playoffs. The WPL 2026 will be played at only two venues: Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium and Kottambi Stadium in Vadodara. This marks a reduction from last season, which was hosted across four venues, as the BCCI locked most grounds for Ranji Trophy matches and the T20 World Cup 2026.
Additionally, this for the first time that the Women’s Premier League will be played in January-February, a dedicated international window by the ICC, avoiding clashes with bilateral and allowing top overseas players to fully participate in the tournament without scheduling conflicts.
What is the WPL 2026 Format?
The format of the upcoming edition of the WPL is similar to that of previous seasons, where two 22 matches are played, with each team ith each team playing the others twice in the league stage. The top three teams will qualify for the playoffs, and the table toppers will directly book their spot in the final, while the second and third placed teams will battle in the Eliminator for a place in the title clash.
In the last season, Delhi Capitals qualified for the final after finishing at the top of the points table in the league, while Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants locked horns in the Eliminator, where the former team emerged victorious to set up a place in the final. And, the Mumbai Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals to lift their second WPL title.
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Considering the format, the teams will once again aim for consistency in the league stage to finish at the top of the points table and secure a direct berth in the final.
Schedule and Fixtures
A total of 22 matches will be played in the league stage of the WPL 2026, with Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil hosting the first 11 games before the action moves to Kottambi Stadium in Vadodara, which will stage the remaining nine league matches along with the Eliminator and the final. Moreover, this season of WPL will have two double headers, with both taking place at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.
Navi Mumbai Leg Schedule
January 9 – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 7:30 PM
January 10 – UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants – 3:00 PM
January 10 – Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals – 7:30 PM
January 11 – Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants – 7:30 PM
January 12 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs UP Warriorz – 7:30 PM
January 13 – Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants – 7:30 PM
January 14 – UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals – 7:30 PM
January 15 – Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz – 7:30 PM
January 16 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Giants – 7:30 PM
January 17 – UP Warriorz vs Mumbai Indians – 3:00 PM
January 17 – Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 7:30 PM
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Vadodara Leg Schedule
January 19 – Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 7:30 PM
January 20 – Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians – 7:30 PM
January 22 – Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz – 7:30 PM
January 24 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals – 7:30 PM
January 26 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians – 7:30 PM
January 27 – Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals – 7:30 PM
January 29 – UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 7:30 PM
January 30 – Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians – 7:30 PM
February 1 – Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz – 7:30 PM
February 3 – Eliminator: Rank 2 vs Rank 3 – 7:30 PM
February 5 – Final: Rank 1 vs Eliminator Winner – 7:30 PM
Where to Watch WPL 2026?
All the matches of the Women’s Premier League 2026 will be live telecast on Star Sports Network, with the toss at 7 pm and the match starting at 7:30 PM. For afternoon matches, the toss will take place at 2:30 PM with play commencing at 3:00 PM. Fans can also catch up live action of the WPL 2026 matches on JioHotstar, which will stream all games live with commentary and match highlights.
WPL 2026 Squads
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajana Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Milly Illingworth
Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues (c), Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Shree Charani, Sneh Rana, Lizelle Lee, Deeya Yadav, Taniyaa Bhatia, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandni Sharma, Lucy Hamilton, Minnu Mani, Alana King (replacement for Annabel Sutherland)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha, Sayali Satghare (replacement for Ellyse Perry)
Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner (c), Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh Thakur, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwer, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ayushi Soni
UP Warriorz: Meg Lanning (c), Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Asha Sobhana, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Chloe Tryon, Suman Meena, G. Trisha, Pratika Rawal, Charli Knott (replacement for Tara Norris)