WPL 2027 auction likely on October 28 in Kochi

MUMBAI: The Women’s Premier League-2027 auction is likely to be conducted on October 29 in Kochi, TOI has learnt.

The option of staging WPL 2027 matches in Varanasi, provided the stadium is ready by January next year, was discussed at Tuesday’s WPL Governing Council meeting, which was held virtually.

“It has been decided that Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium will stage WPL-2027 matches. The second city for staging the WPL will be either Vadodara (Kotambi Stadium) or the new stadium in Varanasi. The BCCI is exploring the possibility of staging matches at Varanasi right now. A BCCI cricket operations team will conduct a recce of the Varanasi stadium, and assess whether it is ready or not to stage the tournament. Since it’s a new venue, we also need to conduct a few domestic/practice matches as well there,” a source tracking developments told TOI on Wednesday.

“The possibility of hosting WPL matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was also discussed, but then it requires quite a few permissions from the local authorities,” the source informed.

The historic Brabourne Stadium at the Cricket Club of India and the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara will also stage the inaugural edition of the six-team ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027, with matches scheduled between Feb 14 and 28, 2027.

In the past, the Brabourne Stadium has staged two WPL finals, in 2023 (inaugural season) and 2025, and missed out last year because new floodlights are being installed at the venue.

The Brabourne Stadium is also the home venue of the Railways in the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy, and will stage three of their ties in the upcoming season.

Vadodara staged the 2026 WPL final, in which the Smriti Mandhana-captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets to lift the trophy.

Decision on Impact Player rule deferred to next month

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the BCCI’s IPL Governing Council on Tuesday, a decision on the controversial Impact Player rule in the IPL has been deferred to a meeting of the IPL GC next month.

“All the franchisees have submitted their feedback on the rule. That feedback will be assessed, and a final decision taken next month,” a source added.

It’s learnt that a majority of the IPL franchises have voiced their reservations against the rule after the BCCI asked them to give their feedback about it.

The debatable rule allows for an extra batter or bowler at any stage of the match, and has resulted in tall scores during the tournament, with batting line-ups becoming deeper.

It has been argued that the rule is hurting the cause of the development of allrounders in Indian cricket.