The fifth season of the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) is upon us. Here's everything you need to know about the tournament this year.
When is the WCPL starting?
WCPL 2026 will begin on September 5 with defending champions Barbados Tridents hosting inaugural champions Trinbago Knight Riders in Bridgetown.
Barbados will stage all eight matches, including the knockouts in mid-September.
You can look up all the fixtures here.
Wait! Barbados Tridents?
Barbados Royals have been rebranded - or re-rebranded - as Barbados Tridents. The men's Barbados franchise is also called Barbados Tridents now.
Royals Sports Group, which took over the franchise in 2021, has agreed to the Barbados government becoming a minority co-investor in the franchise, but majority ownership will remain with Royals.
Which are the teams this year?
For the first time, the WCPL will feature four teams following the expansion of the league.
Barbados Tridents
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Jamaica Empress
Trinbago Knight Riders
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According to a release from the WCPL, next year's tournament could see even more teams competing.
"Looking ahead to 2027, the WCPL is preparing to take the next step in its evolution with plans to welcome teams from outside the Caribbean and establish the tournament as a truly global competition," the release had said.
Tell me more about the new franchise
Jamaica Empress were acquired by Fawad Sarwar, a Pakistani entrepreneur based in the USA, who also owns Jamaica Kingsmen in the CPL and Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Stafanie Taylor, who has captained Guyana Amazon Warriors in the past, will lead her home franchise this season. She also brings a wealth of experience from the WBBL.
Meg Lanning is Empress' marquee overseas signing and will make her WCPL bow at 34. Amy Hunter, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Syeda Aroob Shah and Rosemary Mair are their other overseas players.
The squad has a strong Jamaican flavour, with the presence of Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Rashada Williams and Abigail Bryce.
Who are the other captains?
After being sidelined from the previous WCPL season with injury, Hayley Matthews is back to captain Tridents. Despite missing WCPL 2025, she is still the top run-getter and top wicket-taker in the league. Under Matthews, Tridents will be eyeing a four-peat, having won the title back-to-back in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Deandra Dottin, who led Knight Riders to the title in the inaugural season, will captain the side once again.
Amazon Warriors, meanwhile, will have a new captain in Chloe Tryon, the only overseas skipper in this competition. The South Africa allrounder has captained her national team seven times in T20Is, including in a series in the Caribbean in 2018.
Who are the other major overseas stars?
Shabnim Ismail, who is arguably the fastest bowler in women's cricket, will join fellow South Africans Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk and Tryon at Amazon Warriors.
Suzie Bates, who retired from international cricket after the T20 World Cup in June, is set to return to action for Tridents. Recently, she was part of Sunrisers Leeds' coaching staff in the Hundred. Bates had represented Amazon Warriors in 2023.
Apart from Lanning, also watch out for Laura Harris, who was a surprise package with the ball in the previous WCPL. Harris was the joint-highest wicket-taker in 2025, with eight strikes in five innings at an economy rate of 7.27. She has now switched from Amazon Warriors to Knight Riders for the upcoming season.
Remind me about the Indian presence
Pooja Vastrakar is among four Indians who have signed up for WCPL 2026 along with Shikha Pandey, Yastika Bhatia and Kiran Navgire. This is a chance for Vastrakar to prove her fitness upon her return from a long injury layoff - she last played an official T20 in February 2026, though she recently participated in the Madhya Pradesh T20 league.
Wicketkeeper-batter Yastika, who was dropped from the Asian Games squad, will look to put herself back in the national reckoning. Apart from Pandey, the other three Indians will make their WCPL debuts.
Who are the young West Indians who could make a splash?
Samara Ramnath, a mystery spinner who can turn the ball both ways, is among the exciting West Indies players who should be on your watchlist. The 18-year-old Knight Riders allrounder recently took a hat-trick in the Rising Stars Under-19 women's championship.
There's Eboni Brathwaite, who crashed an unbeaten 135 for Barbados in the same Under-19 tournament. The 17-year-old has already played T20Is for West Indies, but is yet to make her WCPL debut. She will turn out for Amazon Warriors this season.
Former West Indies opening batter Sherwin Campbell, who has coached Brathwaite, believes the teenager has a high ceiling. She was also part of a CWI skill development camp in Antigua in the lead-up to the WCPL.
"For me, I think I need to improve on my control and balance," Brathwaite said. "I need to work more on my strokeplay because I have power-hitting already."
Realeanna Grimmond, who recently posted the highest partnership for West Indies for any wicket along with Matthews in women's ODIs, will turn out for Amazon Warriors again while Shriya Jairam, who turned 16 this August, is another promising talent. The legspinner bagged figures of 4 for 11 in the 2025-26 CWI T20 Blaze tournament for Trinidad & Tobago and has now been selected by Empress for the WCPL.
What's the format of the league like?
Each team will face the other three teams once in the round-robin stage. The team that tops the table will progress directly to the final, where they will meet the winner of a playoff between the teams ranked second and third.
Is there a clash with any other women's competitions?
Yep, it overlaps with the women's Asia Cup, which is why a WCPL regular like Chamari Athapaththu will not be in action this time. The final leg of the WCPL will also clash with the South Africa women's tour of Zimbabwe.