WPL 2027 starts January 14, with BCCI setting September 28 for retentions and October 28 for the player auction in Kochi ahead of the fifth season
New Delhi: The BCCI has fixed January 14 to February 7 for WPL 2027. The board’s media advisory confirms the dates but does not reveal the match schedule or host cities yet.
The BCCI described the TATA WPL as the biggest T20 league in women’s cricket. The board also highlighted the league’s role in bringing leading players from India and overseas together while giving emerging cricketers a bigger stage.
The announcement gives teams a clear timeline for the next phase. They now have to finalise their retentions before turning their attention to the auction.
September 28: the retention deadline comes first
The first major deadline arrives on September 28. All five franchises must decide which players from their current squads they want to retain for the 2027 season.
In simple terms, a retention means a team keeps a player instead of releasing that player into the auction pool. The deadline matters because franchises will build the rest of their squads around the players they choose to keep.
The WPL currently has five teams: Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz. The league started with those five franchises in 2023.
The auction moves to Kochi on October 28
The BCCI has also confirmed October 28 as the auction date, with the event scheduled at the Grand Hyatt Kochi.
A few reports have mentioned October 29, which created some confusion around the date. However, the BCCI’s September 16 advisory states October 28, so that remains the official date.
The 2027 event should also work as a mini-auction. That means teams will make targeted additions rather than rebuild their entire squads. The WPL held a mega-auction before the 2026 season, so the next auction will focus more on filling gaps created by releases and squad changes.
Where will the matches happen? Still an open question
The BCCI has not announced the WPL 2027 host cities. That part of the plan remains under discussion.
Sources tracking the developments have indicated that Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara currently lead the list of possible venues. However, the board has not included either venue in its official September 16 advisory.
Sources have also reported that the BCCI wants to move towards a home-and-away format. Under that model, teams would play matches at more than one home venue rather than moving the entire tournament from one city to another as a group.
That would mark a shift from the caravan model. In a caravan format, teams stay together at one venue for a block of matches before the tournament moves to another city. WPL 2026 used this approach, with matches split between Navi Mumbai and Vadodara.
Varanasi enters the picture
Varanasi has now entered the venue discussion. The city’s new stadium at Ganjari in Rajatalab could potentially host WPL matches for the first time.
However, the BCCI still needs to check whether the venue can get ready in time. Sources have said a BCCI operations team will inspect the stadium before the board makes a final decision. The team will also assess whether the new venue needs domestic or practice matches before it can host a major tournament.
Sources also said officials discussed Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Local permissions, however, could make that option more complicated. None of these venue plans have received official confirmation from the BCCI yet.
RCB defend their title after the 2026 win
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will enter WPL 2027 as defending champions. RCB won their second WPL title in 2026 after beating Delhi Capitals by six wickets in the final at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
RCB chased down 204 with two balls to spare. Smriti Mandhana led the chase with 87, while Georgia Voll added 79. The result gave RCB their second title after their 2024 triumph.
The 2026 tournament featured 22 matches across two cities. Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Sports Academy hosted the first half, while Kotambi Stadium staged the remaining matches.
Why the calendar looks tight this season
The January 14 to February 7 WPL window leaves little room before another major women’s cricket event in India.
The country will host the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy from February 14 to 28, 2027. The ICC has confirmed Mumbai and Vadodara as the host cities, with the Cricket Club of India and Vadodara International Cricket Stadium among the venues.
That means the WPL will finish just one week before the Champions Trophy begins. Brabourne and Kotambi also feature in the current discussions around the two tournaments, adding another layer to the venue-planning challenge.
The BCCI also has to balance the WPL with its domestic calendar. The senior women’s One Day Trophy knockout phase ends on January 10, just four days before the WPL begins.
What fans should watch for next
The immediate focus now shifts to September 28, when the franchises reveal their retention decisions. The auction in Kochi will then give teams another chance to shape their squads for the new season.
The bigger question remains the venues. The BCCI still needs to announce where WPL 2027 will take place and whether it will introduce a genuine home-and-away setup.
For now, the dates are clear: January 14 to February 7 for the tournament, September 28 for retentions and October 28 for the auction.
