India’s women’s cricket fraternity rejoiced as the national selectors revealed the T20 World Cup 2026 squad on Saturday, spotlighting returns for Yastika Bhatia and Radha Yadav, plus a debut call-up for rising star Nandini Sharma.
Hosted at BCCI’s Mumbai base, the press event featured skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, lead selector Amita Sharma, and official Devjit Saikia outlining the strategic picks. Preceding it, a selection meeting included coach Amol Muzumdar, locking in the group that will first test waters against England in late May T20Is.
Radha Yadav’s resurgence follows her match-winning exploits in the 2023 England series triumph and sustained all-round brilliance. Yastika, post-knee surgery and a nagging injury from Visakhapatnam camp, skipped the 2025 ODI World Cup but is now primed for action.
Nandini Sharma’s inclusion celebrates her WPL 2026 heroics, including a groundbreaking hat-trick as the pioneer Indian achiever in the league.
Group 1 pits India against Australia’s dominance, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Netherlands in the tournament spanning June 12-July 5. Pioneers in squad declaration, India opens with Pakistan in Birmingham on June 14, then faces Netherlands in Leeds, South Africa and Bangladesh in Manchester, climaxing versus Australia at iconic Lord’s.
Despite a stellar 2025 ODI World Cup win, T20 glory eludes India post their 2020 final loss. This squad eyes history: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Shri Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Nandini Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaur, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.
With balanced firepower, India aims to conquer the T20 summit.
