Squads

Twelve teams this year instead of ten, which is the main structural change in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Someone good is going out in the group stage because of it. Group A alone has Australia, India, South Africa, and Pakistan. And don’t rule out the defending champions, New Zealand.

Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Teams

With the recent success of women’s cricket, the ICC has expanded the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 to 12 teams. It will guarantee more upsets. The Netherlands are making their debut in the tournament after Global qualifier. The 12 teams are divided into two groups of six.

Group 1 Teams

Australia, Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa

Group 1 is the rougher draw. Australia, India, Pakistan, and South Africa in the same group means someone decent is going out in the group stage.

Group 2 Teams

England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies

England get home advantage and a more manageable path to the semis on paper, though New Zealand, as defending champions, won’t make it easy. Former champions West Indies will always be the dark horse, especially in the T20 tournament.

Full List of Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squads

Players to Watch out for

Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)

The strongest all-round case at this tournament. She can hold an innings together or accelerate it, whichever’s needed, and her seam bowling gets wickets in the middle overs when other bowlers go flat. She’s playing at home, which matters. Every team will have a plan for her. Most won’t stick to it under pressure.

Smriti Mandhana (India)

English conditions can be awkward for openers — overcast, swinging, seaming early. Mandhana tends to handle them well, which tells you something. India’s tournament usually follows her form closely. Good Mandhana starts mean India look fluent and hard to stop. Bad ones mean a scramble to recover, and they don’t always manage it.

Ashleigh Gardner (Australia)

Australia are deep enough that Gardner batting at five or six with the ball as a second option feels like they’re cheating slightly. She hits it a long way and her off-spin is genuinely useful, not just filling overs. In tight games, she can shift the result in a short spell. She does it fairly regularly.

Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)

Good technically, and she’s developed real power over the last few years without getting sloppy. The issue is that South Africa’s batting order doesn’t have the same cushion as Australia’s or India’s, so Wolvaardt’s innings matter more than almost anyone else’s at this tournament. If she’s dismissed cheaply, the Proteas tend to struggle to compensate.

Amelia Kerr (New Zealand)

Leg-spin is a risk at this level and Kerr makes it work more consistently than almost anyone else in the format. She’s hard to pick; she takes wickets when teams are trying to accelerate, and she contributes with the bat. New Zealand, defending their title, will depend heavily on a few players performing across the full tournament. She’s the obvious one.

Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Team Records & Stats

Team	Group	Captain	Coach	ICC Rank	Debut Year	Best Finish	Titles
India Women	Group 1	Harmanpreet Kaur	Amol Muzumdar	3	2009	Runners-up (2020)	0
Australia Women	Group 1	Sophie Molineux	Shelley Nitschke	1	2009	Champions	6 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023)
Bangladesh Women	Group 1	Nigar Sultana	Sarwar Imran	10	2014	Group Stage	0
Netherlands Women	Group 1	Babette de Leede	Neil MacRae	14	2026	N/A	0
Pakistan Women	Group 1	Fatima Sana	Vacant	8	2009	Group Stage	0
South Africa Women	Group 1	Laura Wolvaardt	Mandla Mashimbyi	5	2009	Runners-up (2023, 2024)	0
England Women	Group 2	Heather Knight	Charlotte Edwards	2	2009	Champions	1 (2009)
Ireland Women	Group 2	Gaby Lewis	Gary Wilson	9	2014	Group Stage	0
New Zealand Women	Group 2	Melie Kerr	Ben Sawyer	4	2009	Champions	1 (2024)
Scotland Women	Group 2	Kathryn Bryce	Craig Wallace	11	2024	Group Stage	0
Sri Lanka Women	Group 2	Chamari Athapaththu	Jamie Siddons	7	2009	Group Stage	0
West Indies Women	Group 2	Hayley Matthews	Shane Deitz	6	2009	Champions	1 (2016)

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup FAQs