In a surprising announcement on January 24, the BCCI officially ruled out Lucknow as a venue for the current edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the tournament has been restricted to a two-venue ‘caravan’ model, Navi Mumbai and Vadodara, citing logistical hurdles and a disappointing history of fan attendance in the Uttar Pradesh capital.
BCCI sidelines Ekana Stadium for Women’s cricket and WPL: The reasons behind the decision
As per Sportstar, BCCI announced that the decision to omit Lucknow’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium was driven by the city’s inability to draw sufficient crowds for women’s cricket. Saikia was blunt in his assessment, stating, “There is always a shortage of crowd for women’s cricket. Even for IPL matches, there is less crowd [in Lucknow] than at other venues. So we are not requesting Lucknow to host women’s events because we want people to come and enjoy the game.”
This move comes as a major blow to the UP Warriorz, who are effectively being denied a home-ground advantage for the second year in a row. Saikia also noted that Delhi was excluded because it is currently being prepared for the upcoming T20 World Cup, leaving the board with very few viable options that align with franchise territories.
“Earlier, we hosted the tournament across four venues, Delhi, Lucknow, Vadodara and Navi Mumbai. But this time we are doing it only in two venues, because Delhi will be hosting the T20 World Cup, whereas there are issues with Lucknow,” Saikia added.
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Two-venue strategy for WPL 2026
The BCCI announced that Navi Mumbai’s D.Y. Patil Stadium and Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium will serve as the exclusive hosts for the 22-match tournament to ensure logistical efficiency. Saikia highlighted the success of the D.Y. Patil Stadium during the 2025 Women’s World Cup final, noting, “So, we have been left with very few options. Vadodara is a wonderful venue, and on the other hand, we have seen the crowd response and the facilities at the D.Y. Patil Stadium for the Women’s World Cup final. It was wonderful. These two venues are helpful for us logistically as well,”
While fans in Kolkata and Chennai have also been vocal about wanting matches, the BCCI clarified that matches cannot be held in cities without a dedicated WPL franchise. However, Saikia offered a glimmer of hope for the future, promising that “Otherwise, we have very limited States because we have to look into the territory of those franchises. We cannot have a match in Kolkata or Chennai because neither of those cities has any WPL franchise. Therefore, all the other States are also ruled out,” hinting at a broader expansion once the league adds more teams to its roster.
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
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