Women's Premier League (cricket)

The Women's Premier League (WPL) is a professional women's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2022, it features five city-based franchise teams. The WPL is one of the fastest-growing cricket leagues in the world.

It is held annually since the first season in 2023. Since 2026, it is held between January and February with a dedicated window in the ICC Future Tours Programme.

As of 2026, there have been four seasons of the tournament with Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru having won two titles each.

The first major women's Twenty20 competition in India was the Women's T20 Challenge. This started as a single-match tournament in 2018, and was expanded to a three-team, four-match competition held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

In February 2022, then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced plans to establish a women's version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the major men's Twenty20 franchise cricket competition in India, replacing the Women's T20 Challenge. By August plans were more advanced and in October the BCCI announced that they were considering a five-team tournament which would take place in March 2023. This league was informally known as the Women's Indian Premier League; then BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the BCCI officially named it the Women's Premier League.

On 28 January 2023, the BCCI invited bids for the league's title sponsorship rights until 2027. Tata Group won the bid for an undisclosed amount. Mumbai Indians were the inaugural winners of the tournament, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.

The league's structure is based on the structure of the IPL.

Initially there are five teams, each playing against each other in a double round-robin format, and the three teams finishing with the most points entering the playoff stages of the competition. The Board plans to increase the number of matches and franchises in future seasons if the league is a success.

The first season of the league took place from 4 to 26 March 2023, and featured 22 matches, all held at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Tickets were made available free to women during the first season.

The second season of the WPL took place from 23 February to 17 March 2024. The tournament maintained its structure with five teams competing in a double round-robin format, followed by playoffs. Matches were held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched their first title by defeating Delhi Capitals in the final. Ellyse Perry led the season in runs with 347, while Shreyanka Patil topped the wickets chart with 13 dismissals.

The league's mascot, Shakti, is a tigress wearing a sky blue cricket jersey.

As of the 2026 season, the league has five teams based in cities across India.

A summary of the most notable statistical records associated with the tournament is provided below:

• Source: ESPNcricinfo

As of 5 February 2026

The BCCI intends to distribute 80% of the profits from the competition among the franchise owners during the first five years. For the next five seasons, 60% of the profits will be shared, and from seasons 11 to 15, 50% of the profits will be distributed. Additionally, 80% of the revenue from the central licensing rights for the competition will be shared with the franchises. Franchises will also generate revenue through merchandise, ticket sales and advertising.

The first auction to purchase players for each franchise was held on 13 February 2023 at Mumbai. Around 1,500 players registered their names. Each franchise had ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million) to spend and had to purchase between 15 and 18 players, six of whom could be overseas players.

The base price of an uncapped player at the first auction was between ₹10 lakh (US$12,000) and ₹20 lakh (US$24,000). For capped players it was between ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) and ₹50 lakh (US$59,000). In future seasons the purse size for each franchise will be increased by ₹1.5 crore (US$180,000) each year.

In the first auction a total of ₹59.50 crore (US$7.0 million) was spent to purchase 87 players. Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player purchased in the initial auction; she signed for Royal Challengers Bengaluru for ₹3.4 crore (US$400,000) and was appointed as the team's captain.

Unlike the Indian Premier League, which featured players from the Pakistan men's team for just the inaugural season in 2008, the Women's Premier League did not include players from the women's team since the first season. However, like the IPL, players from Bangladesh were not selected for the 2026 season, due to geopolitical tensions between the two nations.

In January 2023, Viacom18 announced that it had acquired the global media rights for TV and digital broadcasts of the tournament. The contract run for five years and was worth 951 crore. The initial season of the league broadcast in India on the Sports18 TV channel and the JioCinema app, both of which are owned by Viacom18.

The first season of the competition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports, in Australia by Fox Sports Australia, in the United States and Canada by Willow TV and in South Africa by SuperSports. In New Zealand it is aired by Sky Sport, in Malaysia and Hong Kong by Astro Cricket while in mainland China by Star Sports. Furthermore in the Caribbean islands is live on Sportsmax tv.

After the Viacom 18 and Disney Star merger in 2025, Star Sports and JioHotstar became the official Television and Digital broadcasters respectively in India.

• KFC Twenty20 Big Bash

• Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup

• Indian Premier League

• Google Doodle celebrates the rise of women’s cricket with the 2025 Premier League