As the Women’s Premier League prepares for its fourth edition, the WPL 2026 season is already emerging as a defining moment in the league’s evolution.
While the BCCI has not yet issued a formal announcement, internal planning and consistent reporting indicate that Mumbai and Baroda are set to host the tournament. The decision will be officially confirmed during the WPL 2026 Mega Auction on November 27, signalling the beginning of a newly structured, tightly coordinated era for women’s franchise cricket in India.
What elevates the 2026 season beyond previous editions is the shift to a permanent January window, with the tournament expected to run from January 7 to February 3, 2026. It’s a deliberate move shaped by international calendars, upcoming ICC events, and a growing recognition of the WPL’s commercial strength. Crucially, this new timeline places the tournament well ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host later in February. The WPL’s early slot ensures full player availability, global broadcast priority, and minimal scheduling conflicts factors that are essential in a sport where windows are increasingly competitive.
The January shift also benefits Indian cricketers. With the Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for mid-2026, the WPL becomes a high-quality preparation platform, giving domestic and international players an intense lead-in period against world-class opposition. For selectors and coaching staff, the league will be a critical window for assessing form and readiness.
Against this backdrop, the choice of Mumbai as the opening-leg host makes strategic sense. The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, long a dependable venue for major women’s cricket fixtures including the inaugural WPL season in 2023 and recent ICC events offers both administrative ease and commercial security. Mumbai remains the league’s strongest media and sponsorship market, delivering high viewership and packed stands from the very first ball.
Its proven ability to draw large crowds ensures that the early weeks of WPL 2026 will generate strong momentum, stabilizing the tournament’s visibility and revenue from the outset.
But if Mumbai anchors the league, Baroda represents its future-facing ambition. The decision to move the second phase and the final to the newly constructed Kotambi Stadium reflects a desire to push women’s cricket deeper into India’s regional centres.
Opened in December 2024, Kotambi is a modern, 40,000-capacity stadium equipped with an underground water diffuser system that allows rapid pitch recovery an invaluable feature in a tightly packed league calendar. The venue’s design, including a near-360-degree spectator view, positions it as one of India’s most advanced cricketing facilities.
Baroda’s rise as a WPL host is not accidental. The stadium successfully hosted matches in WPL 2025 and made its international debut with a women’s ODI series. While early pitch data indicates a slower surface—producing an average first-innings score of around 112 the ground has already proved its suitability for high-level T20 cricket. Housing the decisive stages of the 2026 season, including the final, is both a reward for the region’s investment and a push to broaden the league’s geographical footprint.
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However, the Baroda leg comes with unique logistical pressure. Kotambi Stadium is scheduled to host the India vs New Zealand men’s ODI on January 11, only days before the WPL is expected to shift there around January 16. The narrow turnaround just five days requires rapid repitching, venue branding changes, broadcast adjustments, and operational resets. The BCCI’s willingness to proceed underscores its confidence in the stadium’s modern systems and the Baroda Cricket Association’s operational competency.
This two-city model is a sharp pivot from the multi-venue 2025 edition, which used Mumbai, Baroda, Bengaluru and Lucknow. The return to a compact geography prioritizes player welfare, simplified travel, and pitch consistency during a condensed 22-match schedule. It also gives franchises clarity as they rebuild their squads at the November 27 auction, especially with the introduction of the Right-to-Match (RTM) rule and widespread player releases. For the Gujarat Giants, playing key matches in Baroda could provide a useful home advantage during a transition-heavy season.
Commercially, the Mumbai-Baroda split offers a balance of stability and expansion. Mumbai guarantees sponsor visibility and high early footfall, while Baroda strengthens the league’s regional engagement and validates the investment in new infrastructure. This is consistent with the BCCI’s long-term vision of mirroring the IPL’s model: build strong metropolitan anchors while cultivating new centres of cricketing gravity.
As the WPL enters its fourth season, the 2026 edition represents maturity a league confident in its position, clear in its scheduling priorities, and ambitious in its expansion strategy.
With Mumbai and Baroda poised to host, and with a dedicated January window secured, the WPL is no longer just an exciting new property it is a permanent, strategically entrenched pillar of the global women’s cricket calendar.
