WPL to be played in a home-away format like IPL from next season - Reports
What comes as good news for women’s cricket fans, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) will reportedly be played in a home-away format starting next season.
Speaking to PTI, a source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that WPL will follow in the footsteps of the IPL when it comes to playing home and away games. However, games are unlikely to be played in tier-2 cities like Indore (Holkar International Cricket Stadium).
The development means that the games will be played in Delhi (Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitely Stadium), Bengaluru (Royal Challengers Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy Stadium), Lucknow (UP Warriorz at the Ekana Stadium), and Gujarat (Narendra Modi Stadium), along with Mumbai.
For the uninitiated, the inaugural edition of the tournament was held across two venues in Mumbai – Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium – from March 4 to 26.
Meanwhile, IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal recently confirmed that the WPL will continue to be a five-team tournament for the next three seasons. He stressed that the home-away format was “important for building a fan base.”
Will WPL be played later in the year?
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that the Women’s Premier League will be postponed to the latter part of the year, around Diwali. However, a final call is awaited.
The speculation comes after Dhumal recently confirmed that it would be challenging to conduct the IPL twice a year. Interestingly, several international cricketers are unable to participate in all games in the T20 tournament due to international commitments.
Speaking recently to the Indian Express, Dhumal said:
“Given the format of the IPL that we have, it is not possible to have another edition in the same year. We have seen the bilateral calendar for the upcoming four years and the ICC events."
He continued:
"So that may not be possible. But if there is any window of opportunity available for some other format or short tournament, we are definitely looking at that.”
Meanwhile, it’s worth mentioning that Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians (MI) lifted the inaugural WPL trophy by defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final.