Royal Challengers Bengaluru WPL
| Nickname(s) | RCB | |
|---|---|---|
| League | Women's Premier League | |
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | Smriti Mandhana (2023–present) | |
| Coach | Luke Williams (2024–present) | |
| Owner | United Spirits | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | |
| Colours | ||
| Founded | 2023 | |
| Home ground | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | |
| Capacity | 33,800 | |
| History | ||
| WPL wins | (2024) | |
| Official website | Website | |
| ||
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (formerly known as Royal Challengers Bangalore Women) is a franchise cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Women's Premier League (WPL). The team is owned by Diageo, which also owns the men's franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The women's team is captained by Smriti Mandhana and coached by Luke Williams. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden title in the 2024 WPL season, which was also the first major trophy for the franchise across both men's and women's teams.[1]
As of 2025, the team is also the most-followed cricket franchise on Instagram, with over 21 million followers.[2]
History
In October 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced plans to launch a five-team women's franchise cricket league in March 2023.[3] In January 2023, the tournament was officially named the Women's Premier League, with team franchises awarded via a closed bidding process.[4]
The Bengaluru-based franchise was acquired by Diageo, the owners of the Royal Challengers IPL team. Ben Sawyer was appointed as the inaugural head coach in February 2023.[5] The team picked 18 players in the first-ever WPL auction held on 13 February 2023.[6] Smriti Mandhana was named captain ahead of the inaugural season.
RCB Women finished fourth in the 2023 season and did not qualify for the knockout stages.[7]
In September 2023, Luke Williams took over as head coach for the 2024 season.[8] The team won four matches in the league stage and qualified for the playoffs. In the eliminator, they defeated the defending champions Mumbai Indians and advanced to the final, where they beat Delhi Capitals to win their maiden WPL title. Ellyse Perry won the Orange Cap (most runs) and Shreyanka Patil won the Purple Cap (most wickets) in the 2024 season.
Performance record
| Year | League Standings | Final Standings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4/5 | League Stage |
| 2024 | 3/5 | Champions |
| 2025 | 4/5 | League Stage |
Captaincy record
| Player | Duration | Matches | Won | Lost | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smriti Mandhana | 2023–present | 24 | 9 | 15 | Champions (2024) |
References
- ↑ "On This Day: Royal Challengers Bengaluru win WPL, their first-ever title, defeat Delhi Capitals in 2024 final". The Indian Express. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ↑ Rathod, Karan Singh (31 March 2025). "Royal Challengers Bengaluru Overtake Chennai Super Kings, Become Most-Followed Team On Instagram". Times Now. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ↑ "Inaugural Women's IPL likely to be played from March 3 to 26". ESPNcricinfo. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ↑ "Owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, RCB win bids to own Women's Premier League teams". ESPNcricinfo. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ↑ "RCB name Australian Ben Sawyer as head coach for WPL". The Indian Express. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ↑ "Bid-by-bid updates - 2023 WPL auction". ESPNcricinfo. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ↑ "Women's Premier League 2022/23 - Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ↑ "RCB appoints Big Bash winner Luke Williams as head coach for WPL". Royal Challengers Bangalore. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024.