MI vs RCB in WPL 2026 opener on Jan 9:Final set for Feb 5 to avoid overlap with Men’s T20 World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur-led defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening match of the fourth Women’s Premier League (WPL) on January 9 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. In a first for the league, the WPL final will not be held on a weekend. The summit clash is scheduled for Thursday, February 5, likely to avoid a clash with the men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which opens on February 7 with Pakistan facing the Netherlands in Colombo. Also Read | India’s World Cup-winning players sold for ₹22.65 Cr in WPL 2026 Auction in Delhi WPL 2026 matches to be held across two venues The 28-day, 22-match tournament will be played across two venues. DY Patil Stadium- which recently hosted India’s maiden women’s ICC global title, the ODI World Cup win over South Africa, will stage the first 11 matches, including afternoon double-headers on January 10 and 17. All other fixtures in this leg will be evening games. The league will then move to Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium for the remaining 11 matches, including the Eliminator on February 3 and the final on February 5.
This is the first WPL to be played in a January-February window, with previous editions held in February-March, often overlapping with international fixtures. Unchanged format: 5 teams to face each other twice in league stage The format remains unchanged: five teams- Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, UP Warriorz, Gujarat Giants and Delhi Capitals will face each other twice in a double round-robin. The table-topper advances directly to the final, while the second and third-placed teams compete in the Eliminator. Mumbai Indians have won two of the first three editions, while RCB are the defending champions. Delhi Capitals have finished runners-up every season so far, and Gujarat Giants along with UP Warriorz are yet to reach a final. Ten days after the WPL ends, India’s women begin an all-format tour of Australia from February 15 to March 9. Also Read | Deepti Sharma costliest player in Women’s Premier League 2026 Auction; falls short of Smriti Mandhana’s mark Full schedule

Navi Mumbai leg

Jan 9: MI vs RCB
Jan 10: UPW vs GG; MI vs DC
Jan 11: DC vs GG
Jan 12: RCB vs UPW
Jan 13: MI vs GG
Jan 14: UPW vs DC
Jan 15: MI vs UPW
Jan 16: RCB vs GG
Jan 17: UPW vs MI; DC vs RCB

Vadodara leg
Jan 19: GG vs RCB
Jan 20: DC vs MI
Jan 22: GG vs UPW
Jan 24: RCB vs DC
Jan 26: RCB vs MI
Jan 27: GG vs DC
Jan 29: UPW vs RCB
Jan 30: GG vs MI
Feb 1: DC vs UPW
Eliminator: Feb 3 (Vadodara)
Final: Feb 5 (Vadodara)