Women’s Premier League 2027: Auction date, place, and new venues detailed originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The WPL 2027 auction is tentatively scheduled for October.
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Varanasi’s new ₹450 crore international cricket stadium in Ganjari has been shortlisted as a host venue alongside Mumbai’s CCI and Vadodara.
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The Varanasi stadium, inspired by Kashi’s religious heritage with trishul-shaped floodlights, will host a Ranji Trophy match as a readiness test first.
WPL auction 2027: Date, host city and venue with Jan-Feb season in sight
The Women’s Premier League is heading into its fifth season with some significant changes already taking shape in the form of a new auction city, an earlier date, and potentially a new venue as host.
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According to Dainik Jagran, the squad-building process for WPL 2027 has been tentatively slotted for October 28 in Kochi. That represents a shift from the late-November to December windows that have been used in previous editions. An earlier auction gives franchises, players and overseas representatives more time to plan ahead of the January-to-March playing window.
This is expected to be a mini-auction rather than a mega reshuffle. The WPL 2026 auction was the first mega-auction in the league’s history, allowing franchises to rebuild from scratch under new retention rules.
With those squad foundations now established, the 2027 edition should be leaner and more targeted, with released players, incoming overseas options and breakthrough domestic performers likely to be the primary focus. The process itself is compact by design, with only five teams and squad sizes capped at 18 players, meaning the whole event typically wraps up in a single day.
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Varanasi’s stunning new stadium set to become WPL’s newest venue
The headline addition to WPL 2027’s geography could be Varanasi. The city’s new international cricket stadium, currently under construction in Ganjari, has been shortlisted as a potential WPL venue alongside Mumbai’s CCI and Vadodara, following a WPL Governing Council meeting on Wednesday, according to BCCI sources.
The stadium in Ganjari is being built at a cost of ₹450 crore, with its foundation stone laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2023. The facility spans a 30.6-acre campus and will feature nine turf pitches, 14 pitches in total meeting international standards, and a drainage system designed to handle heavy rainfall and restore the playing surface quickly.
The stadium is being built around the religious and cultural identity of Kashi. The floodlights are shaped like trishuls, the trident associated with Lord Shiva, while the media box will be modelled after a damru, the pellet drum. Entrance gates, pavilions and structural elements are all planned to reflect the ancient city’s heritage, making it unlike any existing cricket venue in the country.
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Before WPL cricket arrives in Varanasi, a Ranji Trophy match is being planned for October or November to serve as a test event. It will be an occasion to check the pitch preparation, drainage, ground operations and match-day logistics before a bigger audience arrives for the women’s league. If that domestic fixture goes smoothly, the path to WPL 2027 matches in Varanasi becomes easier.
Alongside Varanasi, two familiar WPL hosts are expected to return. Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, run by the Cricket Club of India, hosted matches in the inaugural 2023 season and was back in the spotlight for WPL 2025, as it staged the Eliminator and the final. Meanwhile, Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium made its WPL debut in 2025 when it hosted the tournament’s opening matches and continued in that role through 2026.
MORE: BCCI reveals why India Women snubbed Mohsin Naqvi at Asia Cup final
WPL 2027 team list and what to expect from the five franchises
All five existing franchises, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz, continue into the 2027 season.
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Varanasi, if finalised, would become the sixth city to host WPL matches, joining Delhi, Mumbai, Vadodara, Lucknow and Bengaluru on the league’s map.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru,
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