Two WPL games in Navi Mumbai set for empty stands

Two Women's Premier League games, scheduled for January 14 and 15 in Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium, are set to be played in front of empty stands, Cricbuzz understands.

The reason for this late change is that the police force will be busy in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation election duties, which is set to take place on January 15, and won't be able to provide security for the cricket matches. They have in fact called in for extra force from other parts of Maharashtra for support building up to election day.

The two games scheduled for these dates include:

January 14 - Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz

January 15 - Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz

Incidentally, the date of the elections was announced on December 15, more than two weeks after the release of the WPL schedule.

Crowds will be allowed back in the stadium on January 16, for the second-last day of the competition in Navi Mumbai. The first leg of the tournament will end with a second double-header of the season - on January 17. Mumbai Indians will take on UP Warriorz in the afternoon game, which will followed by the clash between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The league will then move to Kotambi's Baroda Cricket Association Stadium, which will host the last nine league games followed by the playoff and the final, from January 19 to February 5.

* The story was updated at 21:41 IST on January 13 after an official release from the BCCI