2024 Women's Premier League: Everything you need to know

The Women's T20 Challenge is the female version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's largest T20 franchise competition.

The tournament features five teams: Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz. Each team plays against the others twice, with the first half of the tournament taking place in Bengaluru before moving to Delhi.

The top team in the group advances directly to the final, while the second and third-placed teams compete in an eliminator on Friday, 15 March.

The winner of the eliminator advances to the final on Sunday, 17 March.

Which England players will be in action?

The Women's Premier League (WPL) coincides with England's white-ball tour of New Zealand in March, resulting in two squads being named due to the overlap.

Captain Heather Knight and seamer Lauren Bell withdrew from the WPL, while Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Alice Capsey, and Danni Wyatt will miss the first three T20s in New Zealand.

Sciver-Brunt, who played a starring role in 2023, was retained by Mumbai. Fast bowler Issy Wong, who was not selected for New Zealand, has also joined the team.

Ecclestone, the world's top-ranked bowler, returns to UP Warriorz and is joined by batter Danni Wyatt, who is making her WPL debut.

All-rounder Capsey remains with Delhi, while seamer Kate Cross is making her debut with RCB.

Who are the top contenders?

Mumbai and Delhi appear to be the strongest teams once again.

Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of India, leads Mumbai, supported by the all-round abilities of Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr from New Zealand, and last year's player of the tournament, Hayley Matthews from West Indies.

Delhi, who finished first in last year's group, kept 15 players and is captained by the Australian legend Meg Lanning, who recently retired from international cricket and was the leading run-scorer in 2023.

Last year's finalists, the Warriors, with Wyatt in the batting line-up, and Australia's Ash Gardner in the bowling line-up, form a formidable spin attack.

RCB should be competitive after an underwhelming 2023, with Indian superstar Smriti Mandhana and Australia's Ellyse Perry on the side. Gujarat will be looking to rebuild after releasing 11 players.