The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released the full schedule for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026. The tournament will be played from January 9 to February 5, 2026. The fourth season of the league will be held in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara.
Sports News: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally released the much-awaited full schedule for the Women's Premier League 2026 (WPL 2026). The fourth season of the tournament will be played from January 9 to February 5, 2026. This time, WPL matches will be held in two cities, Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. A total of 22 matches will be played, including the league matches, followed by the Eliminator and the Final.
Vadodara to Host Second Phase and Final
WPL 2026 will kick off with a high-voltage encounter. On January 9, 2026, defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will go head-to-head in this match, ensuring peak excitement from the very first game. The Navi Mumbai phase will run from January 9 to 17, with a total of 11 matches played. During this period, all five teams will compete against each other in a round-robin format.
Following the Navi Mumbai phase, the second phase of WPL 2026 will be played in Vadodara. Here, the remaining 11 league matches, along with the playoffs and the final, will be held. The Vadodara phase will commence with a match between Gujarat Giants (GG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). This will be followed by a major rematch between the 2025 finalists, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI), which is being considered one of the league's most crucial encounters. All league matches will conclude by February 1, 2026.
Playoff Format
After the league stage concludes, February 2 has been designated as a break day. Following this:
- Eliminator Match: The teams finishing second and third in the points table will play the Eliminator on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
- Final Match: The team topping the points table will directly qualify for the final. They will face the winner of the Eliminator in the title clash, which will be held in Vadodara on Thursday, February 5, 2026.
This format has consistently guaranteed thrilling contests for the fourth consecutive season. Ahead of WPL 2026, a mega auction was recently held in New Delhi, where the fates of 67 players were decided. In this auction, Indian star all-rounder Deepti Sharma emerged as the most expensive player. She was bought by UP Warriorz for INR 3.2 crore.
With this, Deepti Sharma also became the second most expensive Indian player in WPL history. UP Warriorz adopted the most aggressive strategy in this auction, making five players crorepatis (millionaires in INR terms).
