If reports are to be believed, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is leaving no stone unturned for a grand launch of the Women's Premier League (WPL). While an auction for team ownership was successfully conducted last month, the players auction is all set to be organised in the second week of February.
Even though the official schedule for the first season of the tournament is yet to be released, a tentative schedule doing the rounds among the concerned authorities of the competition has listed Mumbai vs Ahmedabad as the opening match of the T20 league. The same has been confirmed in a report carried by Cricbuzz.
It is worth highlighting that while the Mumbai team is owned by Mukesh Ambani, the Ahmedabad based side was successfully bid for by Gautam Adani.
Entire WPL To Be Staged In Mumbai
Meanwhile, the same report has also claimed that the five-team tournament will commence at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai with the entire competition set to be staged in Mumbai to avoid much travel as players will already be coming after a packed T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The media report says, Bengaluru vs Delhi at the Brabourne Stadium will be the second match of the competition on Sunday (March 5) which will witness a double-header with Ahmedabad returning to play their second match on Sunday against Lucknow at DY Patil Stadium.
The team that tops the league stage enters the final, second and third-placed teams to play Eliminator
The format of the competition will be league followed by the Playoffs. The top-three teams after the league stage will head into the Playoff round where the team that finishes on top of the table plays the final while the sides that finish second and third play the eliminator. The tournament is expected to have five off days. The final is likely to be played on March 26 at the same venue where the action kicks off.