Women's Premier League 2023: Everything you need to know about the WPL

Could Sophie Ecclestone, Harmanpreet Kaur and Tahlia McGrath attract bids in the WPL auction?

The inaugural Women's Premier League, which begins in March, is set to be the most lucrative franchise competition in women's cricket.

It is the women's version of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's biggest T20 franchise competition.

The five franchises have been sold for £465m, with one each in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

Here's everything you need to know about the tournament, before Monday's player draft.

When does the WPL start and where is it?

The WPL will begin on 4 March, six days after the Women's T20 World Cup ends in South Africa. It runs until 24 March, a week before the IPL starts.

The matches will all be held in Mumbai, at the 20,000-seater Brabourne Stadium and the much larger DY Patil Stadium (60,000 capacity).

How does the WPL work?

There are five teams: UP Warriorz, Gujarat Giants, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.

The format is simple - every team plays the other four twice, with the top three from this stage qualifying for the play-off stage.

The table toppers will reach the final automatically, with second and third place competing in an eliminator.

Tell me about the player draft...

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) received 1,525 applications from players wanting to play in the tournament, from which 246 Indians and 163 overseas players made the final cut.

There are a maximum of 90 slots available across the five teams, with 30 places reserved for overseas players - six per franchise.

Each team has almost £1.2m to spend on between 15 and 18 players at the auction, which is being held on 13 February (from approx. 09:00 GMT).

The BCCI set a base price of £30,000, £39,000 and £50,000 for capped international cricketers to pick from when they registered themselves for the auction. The highest salary in the women's Hundred is £31,250.

WPL teams must sign a minimum of 15 players, and can have a maximum of 18. Squads can have no more than seven overseas players, of which five can play in any one match (four plus one from an associate nation).

What players could be involved?

England players Nat and Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt have all entered at the highest reserve price.

Ex-England spinner and BBC Test Match Special commentator Alex Hartley also confirmed her application on social media.

Australia greats Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and former West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin are also part of the highest bracket.

Former England captain Charlotte Edwards has been appointed as head coach of the Mumbai franchise.

Australia's Rachael Haynes has been appointed as the head coach of the Gujarat Giants, while England's current head coach Jon Lewis will lead UP Warriorz.