WPL 2024 likely to take place in caravan model with Bengaluru and Delhi the host cities, claims report

After taking place across multiple venues in one city in its inaugural season, the second edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) could adopt the caravan model where all the matches take place in one city before the action moves to another. According to a report on Cricbuzz, Bengaluru and Delhi have been identified as potential venues for this year’s WPL.

The inaugural WPL, which took place in March last year, was hosted in Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium. While DY Patil hosted the final between Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz, Brabourne hosted the final between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, in which the latter were crowned champions.

According to the report, Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium is likely to host the first set of matches in the season while Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the business end of the tournament, including the final. Additionally, the second season is likely to take place between 22 February and 17 March, which is the window that has been identified by the board.

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The BCCI had earlier adopted the similar model for the 14th season of the IPL in 2021, with the men’s league returning to India after being hosted entirely in the UAE in 2020. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium had hosted the first set of matches, with four teams in each city, before the action shifted to Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium and Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium at the halfway stage.

The season, however, had been put on pause shortly after the teams shifted to Ahmedabad and Delhi with COVID-19 cases being reported inside the bio-bubbles, and eventually resumed in the UAE in September. Chennai Super Kings would go on to win their fourth title after beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final in Dubai.

While the BCCI has identified a window for the WPL, they are yet to draw a similar plan for the IPL, which is set to coincide with the General Election. A source in the board, however, said that there are no plans of moving the tournament out of the country.