MI vs Gujarat Giants to kick off WPL 2023, BCCI finalizes date and venues for Women's Premier League - Reports

The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL 2023) will reportedly take place from March 4 to 26. The first match of the competition will likely feature the Adani Group-owned Gujarat Giants and the franchise owned by the Ambani family's Mumbai Indians (MI).

As per Cricbuzz, the BCCI has decided the venues and dates for the WPL 2023 competition. A tentative schedule has reportedly been circulated to the authorities, which states Gujarat Giants vs. MI's team will kick off the brand new league on March 4.

While the squads of the two franchises are yet to be picked, the higher-ups see this match as a mouth-watering clash as the two teams are owned by two of the richest men in the world. Even in the ongoing International League T20, the match between the Gulf Giants and MI Emirates drew a lot of attention from fans.

Which stadiums will host WPL 2023 matches?

The final list of venues for the Women's Premier League is yet to be announced, but Cricbuzz has reported that Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium will host the tournament opener on March 4. The authorities plan to conduct the entire tournament in Mumbai, with DY Patil Stadium and CCI being the probable venues for the matches.

Wankhede Stadium could have also hosted a few matches, but the stadium is scheduled to host an ODI match between India and Australia on March 17, followed by Mumbai Indians' home matches in the IPL. Hence, Wankhede Stadium may not host any WPL 2023 matches.

Women's Premier League Playoffs Format

The report further states that three out of the five teams in the Women's Premier League will advance to the playoffs. While the tabletoppers will directly progress to the final, the second and third-placed teams will compete in an Eliminator match on March 24 at the CCI.

The winner of the Eliminator will take on the tabletoppers in the inaugural WPL final on March 26 at the DY Patil Stadium.