Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) dream opening night in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 came in a bittersweet way, as head coach Malolan Rangarajan confirmed that star all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar will miss at least the first two weeks of the tournament due to a fresh hamstring injury.
RCB began their campaign with a stunning last-over win against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Friday. But they would be wary by the news that one of their local Indian players remains sidelined. Vastrakar, who was expected to return to competitive cricket in the WPL after last playing in the T20 World Cup in October 2024, picked up the injury just days before being cleared by the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.
RCB coach on Pooja Vastrakar
“I think two days prior to her release from the [BCCI’s Centre of Excellence], she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring,” Malolan Rangarajan, RCB head coach, said at the post-match press conference after RCB’s last-ball win in Navi Mumbai. “The information we have at the moment is that she’s going to [need] two weeks more. It’s a hamstring issue. She was there for her shoulder and now it’s a hamstring issue. So it’s a week-by-week process. So let’s see where she’s at.”
RCB had invested heavily in Vastrakar at the auction, paying INR 85 lakh despite knowing she was injured at the time. Without her, RCB were forced to improvise in the opener. England left-arm spinner Linsey Smith opened the bowling, debutant Arundhati Reddy was handed the new ball, and the night ultimately belonged to Nadine de Klerk, who delivered a match-winning all-round performance. De Klerk’s 4 for 26 and unbeaten 63 made her only the second player in WPL history to claim a four-for and score a fifty in the same match.
Mumbai, too, were without a key all-rounder. Hayley Matthews missed the opener with a minor shoulder strain, though MI coach Lisa Keightley said she is “really close” to returning.
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