WPL 2027 auction to be held on October 28 in Kochi; tournament in January-February window

RCB is the defending WPL champion. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction is tentatively scheduled for October 28 in Kochi, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) firming up plans for the 2027 season at a WPL Governing Council virtual meeting on Tuesday, where the possibility of taking the tournament to Varanasi for the first time was also discussed.

For now, Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara are the two venues in line to host the tournament. “The BCCI team will inspect whether the venue in Varanasi can be ready by then and, accordingly, a call will be taken on hosting matches there. For now, it’s Mumbai and Vadodara,” a source told Sportstar.

Tournament in January-February

It is understood that the WPL will be played in the January-February window, despite India hosting the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in mid-February. The scheduling would leave little turnaround time at the venues, with Brabourne and Kotambi set to host the WPL before being used for the Champions Trophy — the BCCI is looking to have both grounds ready for the back-to-back tournaments.

The WPL has been restricted to two locations in previous seasons, except in 2025, when it was staged across four cities. Taking the tournament to Varanasi, which would serve as the home venue for UP Warriorz, would give the league a new market and the franchise a home venue for only the second time, after it played in Lucknow in 2025.