It was in November last year, that the women’s cricket in India changed forever, as Harmanpreet Kaur’s team went on to lift country’s first ever ICC trophy — the World Cup 2025, as they beat South Africa in the summit clash. Cut to a few months later, the stakes are as high as ever, as the Women’s T20 World Cup in England kickstarts from June 12; and India has already announced its 15-member squad.
The first impressions aren’t that great, tbh. The team has a lot of experience on one hand, and just none, on the other. It is a blend of youth and seasoned players — but not the one that blends well. There are injury concerns in the team, and the recent IND vs SA series — that we lost 1-4, is only indicative — that we aren’t still there in the format, at least for this time.
Insidesport rates the Indian squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
The usual suspects
Harmanpreet Kaur: Love her, hate her, she will be in-charge of the team once more. In the SA series, she scored 169 runs with one fifty to her name. But for IND to win, she needs to be at her very best.
Smriti Mandhana: She was a big failure in the recent series and only scored 62 runs. It goes without saying, that she is one of the best in the world, and a good start to the innings by her, can dramatically improve India’s chances of winning. Overall in 6 innings this year, she has only 1 fifty to her name.
Shafali Verma: Still very young, Shafali has been a different player ever since she got a chance to perform in the World Cup 2025. IN SA series, she finished with 168 runs, at a strike rate of 142. Only if she can go on to convert these into bigger scores; her team will be in better position.
The middle-order wonders
Jemimah Rodrigues: Jemi has worked a lot on her fitness, and can now get those sixes and boundaries going for her. In 10 matches of the WPL she scored 264 runs, where her SR was 142. So, that makes batting, our strong point for sure. She is part of the leadership group as well, and is one of the best fielders as well.
Deepti is not only the best bowler, but is decent with the bat. (Image Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool via Alamy)Deepti Sharma: If she doesn’t contribute with the bat, she makes up for it with the ball, and vice versa. There is hardly any doubt that Deepti is the best all-rounder in the world. And form is on her side. IN SA series, she was the highest wicket-taker — 7 wickets, including a fifer. She scored 46 runs as well.
Richa Ghosh: One feels, with her hitting prowess, she should be batting somewhere at 4 or 5; but she is the most dangerous batter. In the WPL she struck at 151, and is a total terror. In the South Africa series, it was at 157. So, if she gets 6-7 overs, she can elevate the score by 60-70 runs. No boundary in the world is too big for her.
Bowling not bad, but not impressive either
Shree Charani: The way she bowled in the WC 2025, only shows that she doesn’t take much pressure. In 9 matches there, she had gotten 14 wickets. She has been doing fairly well in T20Is too. In 17 matches, she has 24 wickets, at an economy of 7.60
Kranti Gaud: Has proven to be a brilliant ODI bowler, but yet to make a mark in the shortest format. Till now, in 9 matches, she only has 4 wickets, and her economy is 8.46. This series was also not great, so one can only question, if no other pacers were available.
Renuka Thakur: India’s most experienced pacer is going through a bad patch of form. In 7 matches this year, she has picked up 6, at an economy close to 8. This is her worst economy in her entire career so far. So, this needs to be sorted soon.
Shreyanka Patil: A good addition to the squad, she is finally fit and good to go. She did well to prove herself in WPL, and picked up 11 wickets. She gets extra revs on the ball, which could be an added advantage.
The problematic picks
Bharti Fulmali: Barring for that 40 in the 5th T20I vs SA, Bharti hasn’t done enough to be in the squad. In the WPL, she averaged 19 for GG, and scored only 119 runs. Even though she might not be fielded in the XI, why weren’t youngsters like Niki Prasad or G Kamalini picked, who offer more stability.
Yastika Bhatia: On what grounds was the 25-year-old picked? Her last match of repute was in August 2025, and has had injury issues. She missed the 50-over WC, and the WPL as well. She wasn’t around in the SA series, so how does one assess her form? If Uma Chetry was there in NOV, why not now?
Yastika missed out on the World Cup 2025 due to an injury. (Credit: Photo by Santanu Banik/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire/Alamy)Nandani Sharma: Looks like this DC pacer, who bagged 17 wickets in 10 matches, has been picked for her WPL exploits only. She picked up a hattrick and a fifer last season but has no international exposure. If she was under the radar, why wasn’t she played in the South Africa series? One just fails to get these answers. Why couldn’t you get someone like a Sayali Satghare, who is not only a fine pacer, but can bat decent too. In fact, she recently played a Test against Australia, and bagged 9 wickets in WPL.
Arundhati Reddy: In 4 matches vs SA, she could pick only 1 wicket. For RCB, she only bagged two wickets. Then why is she in the team? One understands that Kashvee Gautam is injured, but the selectors somehow want to overlook veteran Shikha Pandey, who did well in WPL with 8 wickets. Plays in the BBL.
Radha Yadav: Once again, Radha finds a spot. She is undoubtedly the best fielder in the team, but is that enough for selection for WC? She played her last T20I in July 2025, and picked up two wickets in WPL this year. If a left-arm spinner is what the team needed, senior spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad could have been picked. She ended up with 11 wickets for GG this season.
India full squad T20 World Cup 2026
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.
Rating India’s squad for Women’s T20 World Cup: Harman’s team 6.5/10, pace department not up to mark Inside Sport India.
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