A new era of Indian women’s cricket started from the moment Harmanpreet Kaur lifted the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 at home. From then on, women’s cricket has taken the centre stage, with even casual fans gaining some interest in the sport. Now, the Women in Blue need to shine again. They need to build on what they started. The next stop is the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, starting from June 12 in England and Wales.
With just a month left to the tournament, the BCCI has revealed that it would announce India’s squad for the T20 World Cup today. Headed by Amita Sharma, the new women’s selection committee will announce the 15-member squad. Other new selectors are Sulakshana Naik, Jaya Sharma and Sravanthi Naidu. Shyama Dey Shaw, part of the old committee, continues in the present panel too. Now, without further ado, let us predict how India’s team could look at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana among certainties
The most impressive part about the Indian team is that the top six is sorted out. Smriti Mandhana, the biggest match-winner of this team and also the vice-captain, would lead from the front alongside swashbuckling Shafali Verma. Mandhana has scored the most runs as an Indian in Women’s T20 so far, while Shafali has the most for India in Women’s T20Is (225) at a superb strike rate of 142.41.
Meanwhile, at number three is India’s Women’s ODI World Cup star in Jemimah Rodrigues. She stabilises before skipper Harmanpreet Kaur enters at two down. Harmanpreet has an enterprising role, having scored the most runs for India in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup history. Another fiery middle-order batter follows in Richa Ghosh, who will be the primary wicketkeeper, of course. Richa has a strike rate of over 150 in Women’s T20I so far this year, a stat that would send chills down some bowlers’ spines.
At number six would be Deepti Sharma, the player of the tournament from India’s ODI World Cup win. She didn’t have a starring WPL 2026 but consider her as a true match-winner for Harmanpreet, as she trusts Deepti the most.
Indian women with most T20 runs in 2026 so far
| Player | Inns | Runs | HS | Av | SR | 50s | 4s/6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smriti Mandhana | 15 | 568 | 96 | 47.33 | 146.39 | 4 | 79/14 |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | 15 | 549 | 82* | 54.90 | 142.59 | 4 | 58/18 |
| Shafali Verma | 18 | 484 | 64 | 26.88 | 132.60 | 3 | 66/12 |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | 18 | 418 | 59 | 27.86 | 135.71 | 3 | 45/5 |
| Anushka Sharma | 15 | 365 | 47 | 24.33 | 114.77 | 0 | 56/2 |
Another all-rounder who will definitely go to England is Shreyanka Patil. The talented youngster missed out on the 50-over World Cup due to an injury but now she sets her sights on T20 World Cup glory. She had a superb WPL as well, and Patil has eight wickets at an economy of 8.06 so far in WT20Is this year. Renuka Singh Thakur is a sure shot inclusion too, with her leading India’s pace attack. Meanwhile, there’s a strong case for Shree Charani as well, who has the most wickets (9) for India in T20Is this year.
Indian women with most T20 wickets in 2026 so far
| Player | Inns | Wkts | BBI | Average | Economy | SR | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shree Charani | 17 | 23 | 4/31 | 21.82 | 7.88 | 16.6 | 0 |
| Shreyanka Patil | 14 | 19 | 5/23 | 21.68 | 8.67 | 15.0 | 1 |
| Nandini Sharma | 11 | 17 | 5/33 | 19.23 | 8.17 | 14.1 | 1 |
| Deepti Sharma | 16 | 15 | 5/19 | 29.33 | 8.68 | 20.2 | 1 |
| Renuka Singh | 16 | 13 | 2/14 | 32.15 | 8.03 | 24.0 | 0 |
| Radha Yadav | 13 | 12 | 4/19 | 19.41 | 6.47 | 18 | 0 |
Nandani Sharma, Amanjot Kaur and Anushka Sharma spice things up
Now, nine aforementioned players are certainties. What about the remaining six spots? Considering India chose Arundhatti Reddy, Kashvee Gautam and Uma Chetry for the recent South Africa series, they should be locked in as well. So, so far, we have three spin and as many pace options included, alongside a backup keeper option in Chetry.
We need a backup batter as well, and that’s where Anushka Sharma will come into the spotlight. The talented batter showed her class as a consistent run machine at the WPL 2026. In fact, she is in the top five list for most runs scored by an Indian in WT20s so far this year, with 365 runs at 24.33. Operating at a good strike rate could be an issue for Anushka, but she can adapt.
For the remaining two spots, we have made changes from the team that went to South Africa. India gave chances to both Kranti Gaud and Bharti Fulmali in South Africa, but the two returned with ordinary numbers. Fulmali scored 42 runs, while Gaud took just one wicket in three outings.
There’s no dearth of talent in the Indian women’s cricket scene and that’s where Nandani Sharma and Amanjot Kaur come up. With the English conditions offering some help to quick bowlers, expect the team to carry an extra pace option. Nandani provides a superb T20 variety option. She can be a wildcard pick. Despite her lack of experience in senior level cricket, the Delhi Capitals pacer presents a solid case. First Indian to take a fifer in WPL, including a hat-trick and fittingly won the “Emerging player of WPL 2026”.
Meanwhile, Amanjot Kaur already knows how to chip in with vital contributions in an ICC World Cup. She averaged 36.50 with the bat at ODI World Cup 2025 while also taking six wickets. She was dropped for the South Africa series, but in T20 cricket you need all-rounders and Harmanpreet can really benefit from her.
Predicted 15-Member squad for India at Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| Batters | Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anushka Sharma |
| Wicketkeepers | Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Amanjot Kaur |
| All-rounders | Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil |
| Bowlers | Renuka Singh Thakur, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Kashvee Gautam, Nandani Sharma |
India Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| June 14 | vs Pakistan | Birmingham, Edgbaston |
| June 17 | vs Netherlands | Leeds, Headingley |
| June 21 | vs South Africa | Manchester, Old Trafford |
| June 25 | vs Bangladesh | Manchester, Old Trafford |
| June 28 | vs Australia | London, Lord’s |
