The Women’s Premier League (WPL) was meant to be a fresh start for Indian women’s cricket. While the BCCI took control of the women’s game in 2006, the domestic structure remained inconsistent and was largely dominated by the Railways.
Despite its resilience on the international stage, the national team often faltered in high-pressure moments, exposing the gaps in the system. The lack of a structured pathway for young talent led to growing calls for a women’s version of the IPL more than a decade ago.
That vision materialised in 2023 with the launch of the WPL, a five-team tournament designed to provide the much-needed platform for the country’s emerging players.
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Three seasons later, the first official cycle is complete — a phase where the BCCI sought to test its commercial viability, nurture talent, and build a sustainable future for women’s cricket.
In just three years, the league has seen significant changes: a geographical expansion, a shift from free entry to ticketed matches, and a noticeable rise in playing standards.
But has it lived up to expectations?
Bridging the gap
The 2025 WPL season was the most competitive yet, thanks in no small part to Gujarat Giants. After two wooden spoon finishes, the team finally found its spark midway through the season, storming into the playoffs with a string of dominant performances.
A new coaching staff, a change in captaincy, and a strategic focus on nurturing Indian talent played a big role in this turnaround. Across seasons two and three, the franchise invested in domestic players, tracking progress through camps and giving them opportunities.
This is the same team that, in its debut season, made headlines for all the wrong reasons — most notably, the puzzling decision to release Deandra Dottin before the tournament even began. But in 2025, Gujarat made a different kind of statement by backing an uncapped Indian player, Kashvee Gautam, despite her injury concerns. The pace-bowling all-rounder, once sidelined by a foot fracture, emerged as one of the team’s standout performers.
🎥 𝙍𝘼𝙒 𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎
From nail-biting moments to pure and unbridled joy 🥳
The reactions say it all from the Mumbai Indians camp on an unforgettable night 💙🏆 #TATAWPL | #DCvMI | #Final | @mipaltanpic.twitter.com/sdiaA2kxoR
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 16, 2025
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“We’ve tried to strike a balance between preparing players for the pressures of the big stage while also keeping their heads pressure-free,” Giants head coach Michael Klinger told Sportstar. “Cricket, domestic or otherwise, is largely result-oriented, and it’s important to shield players from that pressure sometimes.”
The Giants also made some bold selection calls. A senior Indian spinner — the team’s former vice-captain, Sneh Rana — was left out of the XI due to poor form. South African batter Laura Wolvaardt lost her opening slot after three underwhelming outings, making way for the in-form Beth Mooney.
More importantly, Gujarat put faith in its Indian bowling unit. While overseas stars like Dottin, Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Danielle Gibson, and Ashleigh Gardner carried the batting, the bowling workload fell largely on Indian players. Kashvee, Priya Mishra, Meghna Singh, and Tanuja Kanwar and others bowled over 106 overs combined — nearly twice as many as the overseas players.
If Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 2024 title-winning run was magical, Gujarat’s resurgence in 2025 was nothing less. But its campaign ended in heartbreak, falling to eventual champion Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator.
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That match summed up some of the biggest talking points in the WPL:
Fielding remains a weak link – it put the team on the back foot before it had even batted.
Mumbai’s international stars dominated – overseas firepower once again made the difference.
Handling pressure is still a challenge – when the stakes were highest, Gujarat faltered.
An object of envy
With Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, and Amelia Kerr, Mumbai Indians had the dream trio of all-rounders — each hitting top form at different points in the season.
At the halfway mark, Mumbai’s inconsistency had team owners on edge. If RCB had managed to break out of its struggles, the title race might have ended differently.
But when it mattered most, Sciver-Brunt turned unstoppable. After enduring heartbreak with England at the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, she delivered a season for the ages in Mumbai colours — 500 runs, 12 wickets, and an infuriating ability to just not get out. She became the first player to cross 1,000 WPL runs, leading Mumbai’s charge to the title.
Yet, Mumbai’s strength wasn’t built on one player. Matthews and Kerr controlled the spin department, Shabnim Ismail brought sheer pace, and Harmanpreet Kaur thrived with the bat. The result? A near-unbeatable side.
What truly set it apart, though, was its one standout Indian talent — Emerging Player of the Season, Amanjot Kaur.
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During the Bengaluru leg, at a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Harmanpreet backed her in a crunch moment. “If you stay out there, you’ll be able to do it easily,” she told Amanjot. The young all-rounder responded with confidence: “I’ll do it for you, don’t worry.” She delivered exactly as promised.
Amanjot’s reliability gave Harmanpreet the freedom to attack. With the ball, she chipped in with five wickets across 17 overs at a respectable economy of 7.88. But her biggest impact came in the field — diving, stopping, and saving runs in crucial moments.
Harmanpreet credited the league’s growing depth for the tight competition this season. “In the first season, I think we missed out on a lot of good cricketers. We are playing elite cricket, and the games are tough. This time, all franchises have picked good players, and that’s why every game has been this tough. Barely a game or two has been one-sided. We’ve had so many matches go into the last over. I am happy the level of competition has increased, particularly with the domestic cricketers involved.”
New era
The 2025 season saw 7,030 runs scored — well more than the 6,000-odd from the first two editions. Wickets were just as frequent, with 287 falling this year — at least 15 more than previous seasons.
But the WPL is no longer just a stepping stone to the national team. For many domestic players, it has become a standalone career goal.
Take Arundhati Reddy, for example. The financial security from the WPL allowed her to switch domestic teams, giving her better playing opportunities. For Shikha Pandey — whose absence from the Indian team remains unexplained — the league offers a stage to showcase her skill. She has become India’s first true globe-trotting cricketer, playing in the WBBL, WCPL, and domestic leagues in Australia and New Zealand to keep her career alive.
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Former India captain and broadcaster Mithali Raj believes the WPL has also reshaped the domestic cricket landscape.
“The mindset is changing. There is something to play for in the domestic, just not the championship itself. One thing I’ve realised is everyone loves being on TV, being recognised. Now, players know if they do well, they may be scouted or picked for trials and potentially be picked by a franchise. There’s a lot more at stake. Even if you don’t make the Indian team, there is an equally visible avenue for you to play and earn as well.”
She also pointed out the growing confidence among Indian players, highlighting names like Niki Prasad, who thrived under pressure.
However, Mithali acknowledged that the WPL still relies heavily on overseas players — a challenge that will take time to overcome.
“For an overseas player or an international player, this is not the topmost level of the game. There are domestic uncapped players in the mix too, and for them to catch up to the standards of an elite athlete is going to take time. The dependency is there, no doubt, but definitely not as much as the first season. The league is young, it can only get better as we go on.”
Out of the shadows
Seven days after MI lifted the trophy at the Brabourne Stadium, the women’s central contracts were announced. A tentative list of venues for the Women’s ODI World Cup — set to be hosted by India later this year — was also revealed. The absence of mainstream cricketing venues left everyone stunned. Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Indore, and Mullanpur have been selected as initial candidates to host the women’s showpiece event.
This selection made the venue experiment during the WPL seem futile. Imagine the atmosphere of an India vs Australia fixture with 30,000-odd fans shaking the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. South Africa’s 2024 tour of India highlighted Chennai’s warm embrace of women’s cricket, with crowds cheering both teams with equal passion. Why wouldn’t India’s best venues — weather permitting — be automatic choices for a world event?
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The simultaneous scheduling of men’s bilaterals and domestic matches may explain the decision. However, former players and coaches, speaking anonymously, argue that non-traditional venues need a starting point to evolve into major cricketing hubs like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. India will host the tournament for the fourth time. In 1978, matches were played across Calcutta, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, and Patna. The 1997 edition spanned 20 cities, while 2013 was limited to just Cuttack and Mumbai.
“We’ve played games in cities like Dhanbad (Jharkhand), and there was no issue of attendance. People sat on trees to watch us play. You might be surprised by how many turn up this time, especially with the World Cup tag attached,” a former player told this publication.
Mithali emphasised how the WPL has given women’s cricket a level of visibility it never had before.
“Premium women’s cricket in the WPL now has a prime-time slot — 7:30 pm — which has become appointment viewing. It’s not like afternoon games; there’s one match per day to make it easy for both stadium audiences and home viewers. People want to watch the stars they’re seeing on TV,” she noted.
ICC chair Jay Shah tweeted early in the season that the first leg of the WPL saw a 150 per cent surge in TV ratings and 70 per cent growth in digital viewership compared to the previous season. If any proof was needed that the WPL is a product people want to return to, this is it.
Assembly line
With the first cycle of the league complete, the WPL has already had a significant impact. Several players have risen from the league’s grind to the national side — Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Saima Thakor, and Sajeevan Sajana, to name a few. However, fitness and form have kept them from securing permanent spots in the senior team. Among India’s Grade A players, only Harmanpreet stood out in the WPL. She unleashed early aggression with the bat, leaving bowling attacks without answers.
Fielding remains a concern, but the 2025 edition showed it’s not just an India-specific issue. Young Indian players are now far more fearless in their approach — chasing balls, diving, and stopping crucial runs. Sree Charani’s sharp fielding in the final, catches by Jemimah Rodrigues and Niki for DC, and G. Kamalini’s boundary saves for MI are all encouraging signs.
This season also introduced fresh talent. Niki, who led India to its second consecutive Under-19 T20 World Cup title weeks before the WPL, impressed with the bat. Kashvee showed immense potential and should be groomed as a like-for-like replacement for Pooja Vastrakar with her pace variations and batting utility. Bharti Fulmali’s composed explosiveness nearly took the Giants to their first final.
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“Building fast-bowling stock was an important early focus, and the WPL has identified multiple options (Kashvee, Kranti Goud, Saima) who can be developed for bigger roles in the national setup,” Mithali added.
How the system nurtures these players will be critical, especially given India’s inconsistent international planning.
Looking ahead to 2026, the league may expand to include additional teams and venues. With the caravan format tested, the BCCI is now evaluating the feasibility of a home-and-away format for the WPL. With a dedicated annual window and an international player pool that thrives in India’s high-energy atmosphere, the league has a promising future.
However, the WPL remains a toddler learning to walk, especially compared to the well-established WBBL, which integrates seamlessly into Australia’s domestic cricket framework.
With the terrible twos and threes behind, it’s time to look forward to the WPL’s fantastic fours and fives!
