The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 is a major step forward for women’s cricket, opening its third season with more competition and more opportunities for the players. Conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the tournament began on February 14, 2025, and will go on until March 15, 2025.
Tournament Structure and Format
This year brings in a home-and-away, double round-robin pattern, where all five participating franchises—Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz—play all the other teams twice. The final three teams to qualify at the end of the league stage will make it to the playoffs, with the last match being the final.
Venues and Match Schedule
The matches are being conducted on four major venues:
Bengaluru: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Capacity: 40,000)
Lucknow: Ekana Cricket Stadium (Seating capacity: 50,100)
Mumbai: Brabourne Stadium (Seating capacity: 33,000)
Vadodara: Kotambi Stadium (Seating capacity: 40,000)The tournament kicked off with the inaugural match between Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
Player Movements and Team Updates
The WPL 2025 season saw a number of significant player movements during the auction:
Delhi Capitals: Recruited players such as N Charani, Sarah Bryce, Nandini Kashyap, Niki Prasad, and Simran Shaikh.
Gujarat Giants: Recruited Deandra Dottin, Danielle Gibson, and Prakashika Naik.
Mumbai Indians: Recruited G Kamalini, Nadine de Klerk, Akshita Maheshwari, and Sanskriti Gupta.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Recruited Prema Rawat, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar, and Joshitha V J.
UP Warriorz: Signed Alana King, Arushi Goel, and Kranti Goud.Moreover, Deepti Sharma has been made the new UP Warriorz captain in place of injured Alyssa Healy.
Broadcasting and Viewership
The broadcasting rights of WPL 2025 have been acquired by Sports18 officially, and it can be streamed digitally on Disney+ Hotstar.
Significance and Future Prospects
The WPL 2025 is also an important stage for home talent to display their ability on a global platform, with the extra motivation of being in contention for places in the next Women’s ODI World Cup. Seasoned players such as Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur have underlined the importance of the league in filling the gap between home and global cricket.
With each passing match, the WPL remains at the forefront of developing and promoting women’s cricket, providing players with a wealth of experience and fueling the sport’s popularity globally.
