The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 is set to begin on Friday, with two-time champions and defending titleholders Mumbai Indians gearing up to take on 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Navi Mumbai. This season will once again feature five franchises - Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Capitals (DC), Gujarat Giants (GG), and UP Warriorz (UPW).

Over the course of the tournament, these teams will play 22 matches across two venues. The initial phase of the competition will be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, which will host the first 11 matches from January 9 to January 17.

Following which, the tournament will shift to the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Vadodara, where the remaining 11 matches will be played. Vadodara will also host the WPL 2026 final. Meanwhile, the league format remains unchanged from previous editions. Each team will face the other sides twice during the league stage. And the round-robin phase concludes on February 1, after which the playoffs will be held.

The team finishing at the top of the points table will advance directly to the final scheduled for February 5. The teams placed second and third will battle it out in the Eliminator on February 3, with the winner storming into the final.

Mumbai Indians, having lifted the inaugural WPL trophy in 2023 and reclaiming the title last season under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, will once again hope for a tremendous campaign. However, they will face stiff competition from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who won the title back in 2024 under Smriti Mandhana’s captaincy.

WPL 2026 squads:

Mumbai Indians: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Hayley Mathews, Amanjot Kaur, G Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajeevan Sajana, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar and Milly Illingworth

Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues (C), Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Sree Charani , Sneh Rana, Lizelee Lee, Deeya Yadav, Taniyaa Bhatia, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandani Sharma, Lucy Hamilton and Minnu Mani

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana (C), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundathi Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar and D Hemalatha

Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner (C), Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashvee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwar, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ayushi Soni

UP Warriorz: Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Meg Lanning (C), Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Asha Sobhana, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Tara Norris, Chloe Tryon, Suman Meena, G Trisha and Pratika Rawal