WPL team squad and playing date , time and venues and their strong 11

 WPL team squad and playing date , time and venues and their strong 11..

The WPL 2026 season officially kicks off today, January 9, 2026, with a blockbuster opening ceremony featuring Honey Singh and Jacqueline Fernandez, followed by a clash between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Below is the complete guide to the teams, their strongest lineups, and the tournament schedule.

1. Team Squads & Strongest Playing XIs

| Mumbai Indians | Harmanpreet Kaur | Matthews, G Kamalini (WK), Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet (C), Amelia Kerr, S Sajana, Amanjot Kaur, Saika Ishaque, Shabnim Ismail, S Gupta, T Vasistha | Matthews & Sciver-Brunt lead the all-round core; Ismail leads the pace. |

| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Smriti Mandhana | Mandhana (C), Georgia Voll, D Hemalatha, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh (WK), N de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Lauren Bell | Mandhana & Voll provide explosive starts; Patil & Yadav dominate spin. |

| Delhi Capitals | Jemimah Rodrigues | Shafali Verma, L Wolvaardt, Rodrigues (C), Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee (WK), Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana, Niki Prasad, Alana King, N Shree Charani, Minnu Mani | Wolvaardt adds elegance to the top; Alana King provides elite leg-spin. |

| UP Warriorz | Meg Lanning | Meg Lanning (C), S Sehrawat, P Litchfield (WK), K Navgire, Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Kranti Gaud | Ecclestone & Deepti form a world-class spin twin attack. |

| Gujarat Giants | Ashleigh Gardner | Beth Mooney (WK), Sophie Devine, Yastika Bhatia, Gardner (C), D Wyatt-Hodge, Bharti Fulmali, G Wareham, Kashvee Gautam, Renuka Singh, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu | Devine & Mooney are a powerhouse opening duo; Renuka leads the pace. |

2. Tournament Schedule & Venues.

The season is split into two legs: Navi Mumbai (January 9–17) and Vadodara (January 19–February 5).

First Leg: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

 * Jan 9 (7:30 PM): MI vs RCB (Opening Match Tonight)

 * Jan 10 (3:30 PM): UPW vs GG | (7:30 PM): MI vs DC

 * Jan 11 (7:30 PM): DC vs GG

 * Jan 12 (7:30 PM): RCB vs UPW

 * Jan 13 (7:30 PM): MI vs GG

 * Jan 14 (7:30 PM): UPW vs DC

 * Jan 15 (7:30 PM): MI vs UPW

 * Jan 16 (7:30 PM): RCB vs GG

 * Jan 17 (3:30 PM): UPW vs MI | (7:30 PM): DC vs RCB

Second Leg & Playoffs: BCA Stadium, Vadodara

 * Jan 19 – Feb 1: Remaining league stage matches.

 * Feb 3 (7:30 PM): Eliminator (2nd vs 3rd place)

 * Feb 5 (7:30 PM): Grand Final.

3. Key Watch-outs for 2026.

 * The Perry Factor: Ellyse Perry is not playing this season. RCB is relying on Georgia Voll and Sayali Satghare to fill that massive gap.

 * Leadership Change: Delhi Capitals are under the new captaincy of Jemimah Rodrigues, while UP Warriorz have signed Meg Lanning as their new skipper.

 * Broadcast: You can watch the matches live on Star Sports and stream them on the JioHotstar app/website.

The opening ceremony starts at 6:30 PM IST tonight followed by the match at 7:30 PM.