WPL 2027 auction likely on October 28 in Kochi

Royal Challengers Bengaluru women players celebrate with the trophy after winning the final T20 Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 cricket match against Delhi Capitals at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium, Kotambi in Vadodara, Gujarat. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil) MUMBAI: The Women’s Premier League-2027 auction is likely to take place on October 29 in Kochi, TOI has learnt.The possibility of hosting WPL 2027 matches in Varanasi, provided the stadium is ready by January next year, was discussed at the WPL Governing Council meeting held virtually on Tuesday.“It has been decided that Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai will host the matches of WPL-2027. The second city to host the WPL will be either Vadodara (Kotambi Stadium) or the new stadium in Varanasi. BCCI is exploring the possibility of hosting the matches in Varanasi. The BCCI cricket team will now assess whether to host the tournament at the Varanasi stadium or not. The new venue, we also have to play some home/practice matches there,” a source following told TOI on Wednesday development.“The possibility of hosting WPL matches at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium has also been discussed, but then it requires several permissions from the local authorities,” informed a source.Cricket Club of India’s historic Brabourne Stadium and Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium will also host the six-team inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027, with matches scheduled between 14 and 28 February 2027.Brabourne Stadium has hosted two WPL finals in the past, in 2023 (the inaugural season) and 2025, and missed out last year as new floodlights are being installed at the venue.The Brabourne Stadium is also Railway’s home venue in the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy and will host three of their matches in the upcoming season.Vadodara hosted the final of the WPL 2026 in which Royal Challengers Bengaluru, captained by Smriti Mandhan, beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets to lift the trophy.

A decision on the Impact Player rule has been postponed until next month

Meanwhile, at the BCCI IPL Governing Council meeting on Tuesday, the decision on the controversial Impact Player rule in the IPL was postponed until next month’s IPL GC meeting.“All franchisees have sent their feedback on the rule. This feedback will be assessed and a final decision will be taken next month,” the source added.It is learned that most of the IPL franchises have expressed their reservations against the rule after the BCCI asked them to give their feedback on it.The debatable rule allows extra batsmen or bowlers at any stage of the match and has resulted in high scores during the tournament, with the batting line-ups deepening.It has been argued that this rule hurts the cause of developing all-rounders in Indian cricket.