WPL Explained: Women's Premier League — India's BCCI-Backed Franchise Competition
A complete guide to the Women's Premier League (WPL) — how India's five-franchise women's T20 competition works, why its launch in 2023 transformed the commercial landscape of women's cricket, and how it compares to the WBBL and The Hundred.
The Women's Premier League (WPL) is India's domestic women's T20 franchise competition — organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and contested by five franchises. The WPL launched in 2023 with the full commercial and broadcast infrastructure of the IPL model behind it, immediately becoming women's cricket's highest-value domestic competition in terms of player contracts, broadcast rights, and commercial partnerships. Its launch transformed the financial landscape of women's cricket globally.
Five Franchises
The WPL features five franchises: Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Gujarat Giants — each linked to their IPL counterpart franchise. The franchises are based in major Indian cities and are owned by the same corporate groups that own the corresponding IPL men's teams. The commercial muscle behind WPL franchises is significantly greater than other women's domestic competitions: IPL franchise owners have the experience, financial resources, and commercial networks to invest in women's cricket at a scale previously unavailable.
Player Auctions
WPL players are signed through an auction — the same mechanism used in the IPL, where franchises bid against each other for the right to sign players. Players are categorised by their reserve price, and bidding wars between franchises drive prices up for the most sought-after players. The WPL auction has produced record women's cricket contract values: India's Smriti Mandhana, Australia's Meg Lanning, and England's Nat Sciver-Brunt have all received contracts that are among the highest ever paid to women's cricketers in any domestic competition globally.
International Player Participation
Each WPL franchise can sign overseas players alongside Indian players — international women's cricketers from Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan, and other nations. The presence of Australian and English internationals in the WPL is particularly significant: it means India Women's domestic players compete against the world's best foreign players every season, developing against international-standard bowling and batting that accelerates their development as players.
Competition with the WBBL
The WPL runs during February-March in India — which overlaps with the Australian summer and the final stages of the WBBL season. This scheduling creates tension for overseas players who are wanted by both competitions: Australian WBBL franchise commitments can conflict with WPL overseas contracts, and players must choose between the competitions if scheduling clashes arise. The WPL's higher contract values have sometimes taken preference for international players who have the choice, reflecting the financial premium that the BCCI's commercial infrastructure provides.
Frequently asked questions
What is the WPL?
The Women's Premier League (WPL) is India's five-franchise women's T20 domestic competition, organised by the BCCI and launched in 2023. Its franchises — Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, Gujarat Giants — are linked to their IPL counterparts. The WPL immediately became women's cricket's highest-value domestic competition in terms of player contracts.
Which teams are in the WPL?
Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Gujarat Giants — five franchises linked to their IPL equivalents, owned by the same corporate groups, and based in major Indian cities.
How does the WPL compare to the WBBL?
The WPL offers higher player contracts due to the BCCI's commercial infrastructure, while the WBBL offers more teams (eight vs five), a longer season, and has been running since 2015. Both attract international players and are considered the two most prestigious domestic women's T20 competitions globally. Scheduling overlap in February-March means international players sometimes face a choice between the two.