The second season of the Women's Premier League will get underway on Friday (February 23) with holders Mumbai Indians launching their title defence against inaugural edition's runners-up, Delhi Capitals, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Here's all your questions answered about the tournament:
Is Bangalore the venue for WPL 2024?
For the first half, yes. The five-team competition features 22 games, including the knockouts, and it's been split equally between Bengaluru and Delhi's Arun Jaitley stadium. Bangalore will host the first leg, which will run until March 4, and the first game in Delhi kicks off the very next day, on March 5. The Eliminator and the Final will also be at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on March 15 and 17 respectively.
Is there any change in the tournament structure from last year?
Not in the number of teams, and none in the format. Each team will play the other four twice in the double round-robin format. The table-toppers make it straight to the final, just like the last time, and the second and third-placed teams will battle it out in the Eliminator for their right to contest the final. The only slight bit of a change is that there are no double-headers this time.
What are the match timings then?
All games start at 7:30 PM IST, all of them played back-to-back. The only break days are one each before the two knockouts.
Is there a bat flip, like in the WBBL?
No. Just the usual coin toss, just like in the IPL. Fun fact: Harmanpreet Kaur lost seven in a row last season before finally winning one. Overall, she lost nine tosses out of the ten games Mumbai Indians played.
So, like IPL, is there also Impact Sub in WPL?
Unfortunately, no. Just the 11 players a captain names at the toss barring of course any concussion subs, if needed.
Is there DRS?
Yes. All games are fully televised with DRS, and each side will have 2 reviews per innings.
Can players review wides and no-balls using DRS in WPL too?
Absolutely. WPL 2023 was the first ever instance in T20 league cricket in which this DRS rule modification was implemented. It was then followed in the subsequent IPL season.
Were there any surprise releases ahead of the mini auction?
The release of Annabel Sutherland (Gujarat Giants), and Devika Vaidya and Shabnim Ismail (UP Warriorz) made headlines. Two of the three have since found new homes. Giants in fact released 10 of their squad of 18, which included national stars like S Meghana, Mansi Joshi and Sushma Verma alongside foreigners like Sophia Dunkley and Kim Garth. MI let go of Heather Graham and RCB of Dane van Niekerk without giving them a game in WPL 2023. Megan Schutt was another notable release from the RCB squad while Delhi Capitals parted ways with the first-ever Associate representative of the competition, USA's Tara Norris.
What were the auction highlights ahead of Season 2?
The little-known Kashvee Gautam, who fetched an INR 2 Crore deal from Giants, became the highest-paid uncapped player at the auction, earning 20x her base price. The lanky pacer has since been sidelined due to an injury. Sutherland bagged the same paycheck from Delhi Capitals, making her the most expensive overseas buy of this mini auction. Then there was Shabnim Ismail, roped in by MI at INR 1.2 Crore whereas uncapped Karnataka top-order batter Vrinda Dinesh earned an INR 1.3 Crore deal from the Warriorz. The only other player to fetch an eight-figure payday was Australian batting prodigy Phoebe Litchfield, who will be making her WPL debut for the Giants. Among those on the fringes for India, Veda Krishnamurthy got a late entry to the GG squad at base price after being overlooked by the five teams in the inaugural season.
Any notable snubs?
It was almost criminal that Chamari Athapaththu was set to miss out for a second successive season but better sense prevailed and UP Warriorz roped in the Sri Lankan skipper as replacement. No such luck for T20 globetrotter Deandra Dottin though or India's leg-spinning allrounder Devika Vaidya, who fetched INR 1.6 Crore deal in the opening season. Norris, who registered WPL's first-ever fifer on her debut and Australia's Kim Garth failed to find a new club for the second season.
Any no-shows post auction?
RCB's Heather Knight and UP Warriorz's Lauren Bell as England Women's scheduled bilateral series in New Zealand kicks off just two days after the WPL 2024 final. And, the ECB is understood to have given the WPL-bound players the option to forgo the first-three of the five T20Is in New Zealand, the schedule for which was locked in months in advance, in lieu of full participation in the league. Knight and Bell instead opted to focus on international cricket. They are being replaced by Nadine de Klerk (South Africa) and Athapaththu (Sri Lanka) in the two squads respectively.
What does that mean for other English players in the competition?
The six remaining English players - Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong (MI), Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt (UPW), Alice Capsey (DC), Kate Cross (RCB) - have made themselves available to their respective clubs for the entirety of the competition and England have consequently named different squads for the two set of T20Is to be played in New Zealand.
Any injury-forced withdrawals?
Three thus far, headlined by Gautam's who was set for her maiden stint in the competition. BCCI have not disclosed the nature of her injury though, as is the case with RCB's Kanika Ahuja, who is also set to miss the entire tournament. Their replacements are Sayali Satghare and Shradda Pokharkar respectively. Giants had another withdrawl with Lauren Cheatle marking herself unavailable after recently undergoing procedure for the removal of skin cancer from her neck. This paved the way for New Zealand veteran Lea Tahuhu's maiden foray into the WPL after being overlooked last season.
Is there any associate player this time around?
One. Scotland medium-pace all-rounder Kathryn Bryce will be the only Associate player this WPL, signed by Gujarat Giants at a base price of INR 10 Lakh. As such, GG can now field upto five overseas players in their XI as long as one of them is Bryce.
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