The fourth edition of the Tata Women's Premier League will begin on January 9, marking another step forward for women’s cricket in India, with revamped squads, emerging talents like Richa Ghosh and Kamalini, and defending champions Mumbai Indians aiming to retain their title under Harmanpreet Kaur. The league’s journey began with the Women’s Challenger Trophy in 2018, expanded in 2019, and evolved into a full-fledged five-team tournament in 2022, now featuring Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriors and Gujarat Giants, led by prominent captains including Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues. The 2026 season will feature 22 night matches played across DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, starting with a high-profile opener between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and fans can watch the action worldwide via Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports in Australia, Sky Sports in England, Star Sports and JioHotstar in India, SuperSport in South Africa, and Willow TV in the United States.
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Mega auction summary
The Women's Premier League 2026 squads were finalised at the high-profile mega auction in New Delhi on 27 November 2025. Deepti Sharma emerged as the most expensive buy at Rs 3.2 crore, retained by UP Warriorz, while the Mumbai Indians secured Amelia Kerr for Rs 3 crore. Delhi Capitals added key players like Laura Wolvaardt and Chinelle Henry, and Gujarat Giants invested in Sophie Devine and Georgia Wareham. Mag Leaning was acquired by the UP Warriorz along with the Indian World Cup star Pratika Rawal.
Here is the list of captains and the full squad-
Mumbai Indians
Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajana Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vasistha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Milly Illingworth
Harmanpreet Kaur, the latest world cup winning captain and two-time WPL winner, will continue to lead the team.
Delhi Capitals
Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marzianne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Laura Wolvaardt, Chinelle Henry, Shree Charani, Sneh Rana, Lizelle Lee, Deeya Yadav, Taniyaa Bhatia, Mamatha Madiwala, Nandni Sharma, Lucy Hamilton, Minnu Mani
After a solid World Cup campaign, Jemimah was rewarded with captaincy. She will lead any team for the first time. They played three finals continuously but choked every time.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha.
Smriti Mandhana tried to build the core with her close ones; she will surely look forward to coming back stronger.
Gujarat Giants
Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Renuka Singh Thakur, Bharti Fulmali, Titas Sadhu, Kashee Gautam, Kanika Ahuja, Tanuja Kanwer, Georgia Wareham, Anushka Sharma, Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Yastika Bhatia, Shivani Singh, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ayushi Soni
Continuing the trend from IPL, one more Australian, Ashleigh Gardner, is set to lead the team.
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UP Warriorz
Shweta Sehrawat, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Kranti Goud, Asha Sobhana, Deandra Dottin, Shikha Pandey, Shipra Giri, Simran Shaikh, Tara Norris, Chloe Tryon, Suman Meena, G. Trisha, Pratika Rawal.
Abhishek Nayar joined the team as a head coach and did a pretty good job in the Auction. Mag Lanning, who has a pretty good experience of leading in the WPL announced as the captain of the team. Previously, she led the Delhi Capitals.
