The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed the five Women’s Premier League franchises that the auction for the fifth edition of the tournament will be held in Kochi on October 28. The franchises were formally communicated the auction date on Wednesday, with preparations now gathering pace for WPL 2027. The teams have also been given September 28 as the deadline to decide which players they want to retain and release ahead of the auction.
BCCI released a statement to clarify all the major dates around the tournament: “The first milestone ahead of the new season will be the Player Retention deadline on 28 September 2026. The five franchises will have the opportunity to retain players from their existing squads as they begin putting their combinations in place for the new season.
The next phase of squad building will take place at the TATA WPL Player Auction on 28 October 2026. The auction will be held at the Grand Hyatt Kochi, where the five franchises will look to complete and strengthen their squads for the upcoming edition.”
The upcoming auction will follow the mega auction held ahead of the 2026 season and will give the franchises an opportunity to reshape their squads within the existing roster regulations. Each team have a maximum of 18 players, with no more than six overseas players permitted in a squad. The salary cap for the current cycle has been set at ₹15 crore.
While the auction venue and date have now been communicated to the franchises, the BCCI is yet to formally announce the venues for the fifth season of the competition.
The statement released by the BCCI also made it clear that the tournament will be played from 14th January to February 7, 2027. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the key dates for the TATA Women’s Premier League 2027, with the fifth edition scheduled to be played from 14 January to 7 February 2027″, the statement read.
Mumbai and Vadodara emerge as likely venues
Mumbai and Vadodara are currently the leading options to stage WPL 2027 matches, according to a report. The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara are understood to be in contention as the two principal venues for the season. Varanasi has also entered the discussions as a possible venue, with the BCCI exploring the prospect of taking WPL matches to the newly built stadium there. However, the option remains less certain, as the venue would first need to host domestic cricket and satisfy the necessary operational requirements before being considered for a tournament of the WPL’s scale.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru will enter the WPL 2027 as the defending champions after winning the 2026 edition, beating the Delhi Capitals in the final at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. With the October 28 auction now set, attention will first turn towards the September 28 retention deadline. The decisions made by the five franchises over the coming days will determine the shape of the player pool and the amount of money available to each side when they arrive in Kochi for the auction.
