2 Cheers, 1 Complaint

WPL has delivered good cricket and stories. But women’s cricket is still expected to accept second place

Indian women delivered as big as it gets by winning the ODI World Cup in 2025. It was logical therefore to expect a super buzzy Women’s Premier League in 2026. But at the tournament’s end, what we have got, instead, is a mixed picture. First, let’s look at all the things that worked. There are the players the country has discovered even as they have found themselves. For example, Gautami Naik, who became the first Indian uncapped player to score a half-century in WPL. Remember that previous WPLs were crucial to last year’s historic win, by providing a platform for Indian women to hone their skills and nerves with the best in cricket. At the T20 World Cup that takes place June 12 to July 5 in England, we can hope for that virtuous cycle to repeat itself.

Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues steering Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals, respectively, into the final, is a display of their leadership qualities being honed. Overall, Gujarat Giants fielding coach and former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor finds that incredible power is coming into the domestic game: “It’s scary where the girls were last year and where they are now.” CSK has indicated plans to invest in a women’s team in the near future. Currently, WPL holds teams out of Mumbai, Gujarat and UP, besides Delhi and Bengaluru. 

Now, onto matters of concern. After that hard-won World Cup, fans had expected the women to get the kind of victory parade that men have gotten again and again. It didn’t happen. Next, the 4 cities hosting WPL in 2025 shrank to 2 this time. Only the first leg took place in DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, which has rightly been called the beating heart of women’s cricket. Even in this phase, there were matches played without spectators, because of municipal elections. That the men’s T20 World Cup draws away audience attention is fine, that it sends women to smaller stages is not.

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