The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026 is going to be a spectacular cricket and entertainment event, as the rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh and the actress Jacqueline Fernandez will be the leading performers at the opening ceremony in Navi Mumbai.

The first match of the upcoming WPL season, which is the fourth one, is set to take place on the 9th of January at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, between the reigning champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

WPL opening show confirmation with stars

The WPL organizers declared the performances through a post on their official social media account. Regarding Honey Singh's show, the league remarked that the rapper would be the one to make the season efficient with an energetic pre-game performance.

Jacqueline Fernandez is also going to be in the limelight with her unique performance on the first day that pays tribute to women, confidence, and the rapid rise of women's sports in India. The atmosphere of glamour and vivacity that her participation would create is going to be there even before the cricketing action commences.

Tournament kicks off with MI vs RCB match

The first match of the season, that is the clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is going to be a great start with women's cricket having some of the biggest stars in the cast. The match, which is supposed to take place after the opening ceremony, is going to be on air from 7:30 PM IST.

Venues and schedule highlights

WPL 2026 is going to be organized at two venues:

• Navi Mumbai will see a total of 11 matches, including the afternoon double-headers on January 10 and 17
• Kotambi Stadium will be the location for the other 11 matches.

In a groundbreaking change for the tournament, the final will be on a weekday, with the title clash taking place on Thursday, February 5. This decision has been made in order to overlap with the men's T20 World Cup that starts soon after.

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January–February period for WPL is a first

The window of scheduling is another important change in this season's edition. For the first instance, WPL will be wintered in January–February, after its previous times of holding and being near the IPL window.

The structure is the same as before:

• Five franchises - Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, and UP Warriorz
• Double round-robin league stage
• The top team qualifies directly for the final
• The teams placed second and third enter the Eliminator

Mumbai Indians have been crowned champions twice so far, while RCB had their first title in 2024.

Live streaming and telecast details

The WPL 2026 opening ceremony and matches will be available for viewing by fans:

• Live Streaming: JioCinema app and website (no cost)
• TV Telecast: Star Sports Network

With the stars performing at the opening ceremony and a packed timetable of elite international and Indian talent, WPL 2026 is going to be its biggest and most competitive season.

Mumbai Indians is always an exciting franchise to look after in IPL auctions, as they like to bid for youngsters. With a small purse, in the IPL 2026 auction, they invested in multiple underrated players like Mohammad Izhar. 

Mohammad Izhar is an uncapped India pacer from Bihar who is now a part of the Mumbai Indians for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. The pacer, in the past, served as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Now, he is a part of the Mumbai-based IPL franchise. But what is his favorite IPL team?

During an interview, Izhar said that it is true that he was a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings, but from the heart, he is a fan of the Mumbai Indians. The pacer mentioned that the pace attack of MI with Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult especially attracted him towards the blue and gold team. Though, he mentioned Mitchell Starc as his idol. 

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Mumbai Indians new recruit reveals his favorite IPL team name

Md. Izhar in an interview

- Mumbai Indians has always been my favorite team and I would love to share dressing room with Boult, Bumrah and Hardik bhai
- My idol is Mitchell Starc
- My average speed is 135-137 kmph
- I want to play test cricket for India pic.twitter.com/PQ6oeUZeiC

— Mumbai Indians FC (@MIPaltanFamily) December 20, 2025

"Starc is also a left-arm fast bowler, and I bowl left-handed too. We have legendary bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult in our team. I'll try to learn the skill of bowling perfect yorkers from Bumrah and learn swing bowling from Boult. Since Boult is a left-arm bowler, I'll have a lot to learn from him," Izhar said in an interview. 

MI IPL 2026 Squad 

Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat.

Mumbai Indians (MI) went through a decent season in 2025 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they finished at the fourth position of the points table with the help of eight wins in 14 clashes at a net run rate of +1.142. They missed the bus only at the second qualifier when the Punjab Kings (PBKS) proved to be too good to beat for them.

The Hardik Pandya-led side were exceptional at the top in the presence of their former captain, Rohit Sharma, who paired with the South Africa wicket-keeper batter, Ryan Rickelton, in the group stage of the campaign, with the latter smashing 388 runs at a strike rate of over 150 with three half-centuries.

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Even when Rickelton went away to England for the early preparations of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against Australia, Mumbai found a fine replacement in Jonny Bairstow, who grabbed the spotlight with 85 runs in two innings at a strike rate of more than 184.

Mumbai Indians’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Mumbai went into the auction with the smallest purse and was expected to be the least-buying team of the auction. Quinte funnily, they lifted the paddle for the Australia all-rounder, Cameron Green, who was never going to be under their radar with an anticipation of crossing the INR 20 crore mark.

Mumbai Indians squad ahead of IPL 2026:

Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock, Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mohammed Izhar.

It was a steal from the Mumbai Indians to sign their former wicket-keeper batter, Quinton de Kock, for a price of only INR 1 crore. He can now reunite with Rohit at the opening position and still have Rickelton as the back-up option of the side. Suryakumar Yadav has cemented his place at number three, followed by Tilka Varma.

Is there any question about the all-round skill of Hardik Pandya, who can bring the best balance of the side with runs and wickets in the middle order and overs of the innings, respectively? At six, they can use Naman Dhir in the eleven with one of Sherfane Rutherford and Mitchell Santer taking the place at number seven.

On slow and low surfaces like Chennai and Lucknow, Mumbai may opt to go with Santner, whose four overs will be vital for the franchise, while on pace tracks and the requirement of scoring big runs at the lower order, Rutherford will be the suitable option.

It was a shocker that they didn’t let go of Deepak Chahar, whom they could have gotten back for a low price. It also would have given them a better chance to bid for a few players, which they couldn’t do with such a small purse. They also brought Shardul Thakur into the side with Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult being their premier pacers.

In the spin department, they will have Allah Ghazanfar along with one of Ashwani Kumar or Mayank Markande doing the rest of the job. If they are not happy with either Santner or Rutherford, Will Jacks can be a good option to use in the lower middle order of the side.

MI’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutheford/Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande/Ashwani Kumar, AM Ghazanfar.

Impact player: Trent Boult.

Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani has revealed why the team briefly raised its paddle for Cameron Green during the IPL 2026 auction — even though they knew they could not afford him.

Green eventually became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history, with Kolkata Knight Riders buying the Australian all-rounder for ₹25.20 crore, the third-highest bid ever in the league.

The auction turned into a big battle. Rajasthan Royals dropped out around ₹13 crore. Then Chennai Super Kings pushed the price past ₹20 crore, bidding up to ₹25 crore. Finally, KKR won with the last bid of ₹25.20 crore.

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Mumbai Indians bidding for Cameron Green till 2.40cr with 2.75cr purse. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/dC5S3vcact

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 16, 2025

Mumbai Indians’ Symbolic Bid for Cameron Green

Mumbai Indians briefly entered the bidding for Cameron Green, even though they knew they could not afford him.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, MI owner Akash Ambani said the move was symbolic.

“A little bit of homage to him," he said. “His first IPL team was the Mumbai Indians. We knew he was out of our purse this auction, but just to tell him that we value him, he’ll still be in our thoughts. And whenever Cam Green is in the auction, our paddle will go up for him."

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Green’s IPL Journey and MI’s Auction Strategy

Green started his IPL journey with MI and later played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he scored 707 runs in 29 matches at an average of 41.58 and a strike rate over 153, including a century and two fifties. He also took 16 wickets. Injury kept him out of last season’s auction.

Ambani expressed satisfaction with MI’s overall auction strategy, even though they had their lowest purse in 19 years.

“Very satisfied with the team we have," he said. “It was a different challenge — I don’t think we’ve had this kind of auction in 19 years. But it shows how balanced we were. We only needed to fill a couple of gaps."

After five underwhelming seasons, Ambani sounded hopeful.

“Hopefully, this is the year. We believe it’s a complete and competitive squad."

Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL winning team, went into the IPL 2026 mini-auction with the lowest purse of only ₹2.75 crores. However, the MI proved once again their smart planning and sound thinking despite having less money in hand. They did not opt for star players but went for budget picks. The biggest purchase of MI was bringing back former player Quinton De Kock at a cost of just ₹1 crore, which was one of the best picks of the auction. 

The return of Quinton De Kock adds strong experience and depth to MI batting unit. He will act as a reliable backup wicketkeeper-batter for Ryan Rickelton, who had a successful debut season as an IPL player with MI in 2025. Prior to the auction, MI released uncapped wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith, who had not played a single game for them this season. With de Kock on board, MI made sure they have a proven and dependable option behind the stumps.

De Kock earlier played for Mumbai Indians from 2019 to 2021. He scored 529 runs in 2019, 503 runs in 2020, and 297 runs in 2021. Released by Kolkata Knight Riders before the IPL 2026 auction, the South African has played 115 IPL matches so far. He has scored 3,309 runs at a strike rate of over 134. His experience and calm demeanor will benefit MI during those high-pressure moments.

Mumbai Indians’ Brought Players and Full Squad 

Before the auction, Mumbai Indians retained their core players, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav. They remain the backbone of the team. MI also retained key overseas players in Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, and Will Jacks. MI also made smart trade, acquiring Shardul Thakur (Lucknow Super Giants), Sherfane Rutherford (Gujarat Titans), and leg-spinner Mayank Markande (Kolkata Knight Riders).

Mumbai Indians Brought Players at IPL 2026 Auction 

Quinton de Kock (₹1 crore), Danish Malewar (₹30 lakh), Mohammad Salahuddin Izhar (₹30 lakh), Atharva Ankolekar (₹30 lakh).

Mumbai Indians Full Squad for IPL 2026 

Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar.

For the first time in five years, the brand value of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has fallen by 20%, touching $9.6 billion for the 2025 season, compared with $12 billion in 2024, according to the latest reports from brand valuation and consultancy firm as per the latest reports claim. It’s also the first time that the brand value has slipped below the $10-billion mark.

The brand firm attributes the decline to various factors. The uncertainty has been reflected in the values of four franchises- the Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This fell by 9-33% in 2025. Last year, these teams crossed $100 million mark in brand value.

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The T20 league had crossed the mark of $10-millon in 2023 and stayed above the level for the entire 2024 as the reports claimed that the IPL had achieved a strong online broadcasting record with 384.6 billion minutes of watch time in the 2025 season, which has underscored its accessibility and the engagement with Mumbai being the most valuable team with a brand value of $108 million.

Know most valuable IPL franchise in terms of brand value ahead of IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings come at the third position with a brand value of $93 million, while the Bengaluru side, the current defending champions of the IPL 2026, has been sandwiched with a brand value of $105 million. The lowest price is $53 million for the inaugural champions, the Rajasthan Royals.

It has documented the significant growth of the top five IPL teams, including the Kolkata Knight Riders, for a brand value of $73 million, along with the Gujarat Titans for a value of $70 million. “The league has navigated regional conflicts and demonstrated a promising evolution in value creation, reflecting strong engagement on and off the field.” The managing director of the brand finance addressed.

Most Valuable IPL teams on brand value after IPL 2025

On December 03, Oval Invincibles, the most successful franchise of The Hundred, got rebranded as the MI London from 2026 onwards, after Surrey and the Reliance Industries Limited concluded their protracted negotiations in their equity sale. The name change brings the men’s and women’s sides close to the rest of the Mumbai Indians’ T20 league sides in SA20, ILT20, IPL, MLC, and WPL.

The MI London also released a special video where they looked back at the legacy of the franchise, which started with the first trophy in 2013 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who later went on to win five titles in the competition till 2020, with two successive trophies coming in 2019 and the following season.

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Reliance secured a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles, having valued the franchise at 123 million pounds, which is the second most expensive behind the Lord's-based London Spirit, for 295 million pounds. The delay reflects a reluctance at Surrey to relinquish a brand identity.

Watch: MI London releases special video for Mumbai Indian’s T20 league success

The eight partnerships combined represent a valuation for the teams of over 975 million, with over 500 million now going to be invested in the England and Wales Cricket.

A monumental moment, when two cricketing legacies come together as #OneFamily! 💙 pic.twitter.com/Q9YgeTgl17

— MI London (@MILondonCricket) December 3, 2025

“We have worked very closely with Reliance on the name of the new team and believe that MI London will give us the best opportunity to build the fanbase at home and across the world. We also believe that the team brand will help to grow the commercial value of our franchise, in turn boosting investment into the long-term sustainable growth of Surrey and of cricket in our community.” The Surrey chairman, Oli Slipper, expressed.

“We are delighted to welcome MI London into the #OneFamily and take the MI legacy to new frontiers. London holds a special place in the heart of cricket, and we are honoured to be part of its rich heritage. Together with Surrey, we look forward to nurturing young talent, engaging diverse communities, and uniting fans through their shared love of the game.” Mr. Nita M. Ambani, the co-owner of the franchise, said.

With the injury of premier pacer Mark Wood, the management of the England Test side has decided to pick the Mumbai Indians star, Will Jacks, for the second day-night Test of the Ashes 2025/26 at the Gabba in Brisbane, starting on November 04. It will be the spin all-rounder’s first red-ball appearance in three years after leapfrogging Shoaib Bashir as their main spinner.

It will be the third Test game for Will Jacks, having earned his first two in Pakistan in 2022, where he picked up 6/161 on his debut at the Rawalpindi ground. The 27-year-old was one of the multiple spinners on those two occasions, but now finds himself not just in an Ashes series with 1-0 down, but also as a primary spinner of the pink-ball affair.

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Jacks featured in just five-class matches in the last two seasons, and picked up five wickets in the three County Championship 2025 games at an average of 38.80. If he gets a wicket at the Gabba, then it will be his 50th scalp in first-class cricket since his debut in 2018.

England include Will Jacks in second D/N Ashes 2025/26 Test at Gabba

Bashir became the first-choice spinner of Stokes’ side since the start of the 2024 summer, debuting in India earlier that year, but has been left out for the very first time regarding the choice of the spin options. He didn’t find himself in the 12-member side in the previous Perth Test as they opted for an all-pace attack.

“Talking about the tactical element of a day-night game, you do try to look at Australia. They play a lot of day-night cricket here, how they use their spinner as an attacking option, or more to give the bowlers an easier rotation and to get through the overs quicker to have more time with the new ball under lights.” Captain Ben Stokes expressed in the press conference.

England’s playing eleven for second Ashes 2025/26 Test

⁠Zak Crawley, ⁠Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook, ⁠Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, ⁠Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.