WPL 2027: Wankhede replaces Brabourne as Mumbai venue, dates unchanged
New Delhi: The Mumbai leg of the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, not the Brabourne Stadium, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Sunday. The fixtures and dates stay as they were previously scheduled.
The move had been expected – IANS previously reported on Saturday that the second half of the league was likely to be shifted to Wankhede Stadium, owing to the ICC’s rules on exclusive control of venues for 15 days before the tournament begins.
Brabourne Stadium, along with Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, is set to host the six-team inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy from February 14 to 28. “As CCI is also scheduled to host the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027, commencing on 14 February, the interval between the conclusion of the TATA WPL and the start of the multi-nation tournament would not provide sufficient time for the pitches to recover.
“The change follows a request from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift the matches scheduled to be played at CCI. The WPL Committee has approved the change, with Wankhede Stadium now set to host all 11 matches of the Mumbai leg,” further said the BCCI.
Wankhede will now host all 11 matches in the Mumbai leg, covering league-stage matches 12 to 20, the eliminator, and the final, to be played from January 26 to February 7, 2027. The WPL Governing Council cleared the original venues and dates on September 15.
The 2027 season begins on January 14 in Vadodara, where defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on two-time winners Mumbai Indians. Vadodara hosts the first 11 games till January 24, after which the tournament moves to Mumbai. All matches start at 7:30 pm IST.
The league phase ends on February 3, while the eliminator is on February 5, and the table-topper goes straight to the final on February 7. It will also mark the first time that Wankhede Stadium, the home venue of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, hosts WPL matches.