In a major development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the T20I squad for the Indian women’s team. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will feature in a five-match T20I series against South Africa away from home, starting April 17. The series will be of massive importance as India build towards preparing for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 which will be held in June in England.
T20 World Cup hint given before IND vs SA series
The 15-woman squad features regular names like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Renuka Thakur and Jemimah Rodrigues. However, a wonderful addition has been Anushka Sharma after her incredible performances at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026. She made 177 runs at SR 129.20 for Gujarat Giants, who qualified for the playoffs. She is added as a backup batter, getting her maiden call-up to the international side. Meanwhile, Uma Chetry has replaced G. Kamalini as India’s backup keeper.
Also, there’s no place for Amanjot Kaur from India’s last series that they won over Australia in Australia. Instead, India have brought in Kashvee Gautam to bolster the pace attack. Kashvee had a good W-ODI series in Australia and bowls quite fast. She will be gunning for a spot with other pace options in Renuka, Kranti Gaud and Arundhatti Reddy.
There’s no place for Vaishnavi Sharma either, who wasn’t given enough chances in Australia. But the fact that the Indian spin attack is already stacked with the likes of Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani, and Shreyanka Patil means the management didn’t need to bring in another tweaker. It is sensible as well since conditions in South Africa will be better suited to quicker bowlers. So will in England, where the T20 World Cup will be held.
India’s squad for South Africa Tour
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Kashvee Gautam, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry (WK), Anushka Sharma
The squad has more or less given the indication of what the selectors are thinking as far as the plans for the T20 World Cup are concerned. They are going with four pace bowling and three spin bowling options, with a backup finisher in Bharti Fulmali and another backup top-order option in Anushka Sharma. Eight T20Is remain for Harmanpreet Kaur’s troops to showcase what they got before the T20 World Cup 2026 kicks in, starting with the mega India vs Pakistan match on June 14.
India Tour of South Africa 2026 – T20I Series
| No. | Day | Date | Time (IST) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friday | 17-Apr-26 | 9:30 PM | 1st T20I | Durban |
| 2 | Sunday | 19-Apr-26 | 5:30 PM | 2nd T20I | Durban |
| 3 | Wednesday | 22-Apr-26 | 9:30 PM | 3rd T20I | Johannesburg |
| 4 | Saturday | 25-Apr-26 | 9:30 PM | 4th T20I | Johannesburg |
| 5 | Monday | 27-Apr-26 | 5:30 PM | 5th T20I | Benoni |
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