- “Five teams are not enough” – BCCI plans major expansion of Women’s Premier League. The board will hold discussions about expanding WPL franchises from next year, with one or two additional teams being considered to cater to India’s growing pool of homegrown talent.
- ‘Five teams are not enough’ – BCCI plans major expansion of Women’s Premier League (Photo by Abhishek Chinnpa/) The auction of the Women’s Premier League for 2027 was held in Kochi on October 28, with around 150 women cricketers competing for spots in the five existing franchises.
- Only around 25 players received contracts, so a significant part of the Indian talent pool is not represented in the league.
“Five teams are not enough” – BCCI plans major expansion of Women’s Premier League. The board will hold discussions about expanding WPL franchises from next year, with one or two additional teams being considered to cater to India’s growing pool of homegrown talent.
‘Five teams are not enough’ – BCCI plans major expansion of Women’s Premier League (Photo by Abhishek Chinnpa/) The auction of the Women’s Premier League for 2027 was held in Kochi on October 28, with around 150 women cricketers competing for spots in the five existing franchises. Only around 25 players received contracts, so a significant part of the Indian talent pool is not represented in the league. The inequality has prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India to consider structural changes to the competition from next year.
Devajit Saikia, the BCCI official who oversees the WPL, explained the board’s expansion plans in response to the growing domestic talent base. The current five-team format, which has remained unchanged since the league’s inceon in 2023, cannot adequately accommodate the growing number of quality cricketers emerging from the Indian national system. Saikia emphasized that meaningful discussions will take place to address this cacity limitation.
“There are around 150 players taking part and barely 25-27 could be accommodated. Many talented players were left behind. So we can clearly see that five teams is not enough compared to the growing pool of women cricketers,” Saikia was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.
Why does the BCCI want to expand the WPL? Adding one or two franchises to the league structure, perhs combined with increased player budgets for existing teams, would create additional opportunities for cricketers to gain exposure and competitive experience at the franchise level. This expansion strategy aims to ensure that more talented players from Indian domestic sports get the platform they deserve in the professional ecosystem.
The 2027 season is scheduled to run from January 14 to February 7 and Saikia credited the WPL for playing an important role in India’s emergence as a dominant force in women’s cricket. He pointed to the national team’s triumph in the ODI World Cup last year as evidence of the league’s positive impact on player development and performance at the international level. “If you look at how far we have come in the last four years, we have come a long way.
Today, India is one of the dominant forces in women’s cricket and the WPL has been instrumental in this success,” said Saikia. At the auction, Saikia welcomed the selection of 15-year-old all-rounder Uma Kashvi, who was picked by Delhi Citals for Rs 10 lakh. The addition of the young player to the league underlines the WPL’s role in identifying and nurturing emerging talent in the Indian cricket system, demonstrating the value of the platform in developing the next generation of female cricketers.
