Indian women’s cricket team NEW DELHI: India largely stuck with experience as they made some bold calls in announcing their 15-member squad for the 2026 Women’s World T20 in England, with the return of Yastika Bhatia and the omission of Pratika Rawal emerging as the biggest talking points from Saturday’s selection meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.Aiming to win India’s first Women’s T20 World Cup title, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team will head into the tournament starting on June 14 with a squad that balances established stars and emerging talent. Smriti Mandhana was named vice-captain while regular names like Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh retained their places.Notable inclusions include Bharti Fulmali and young pacer Nandini Sharma, both of whom have impressed during recent occasions. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani has also claimed his place, underscoring India’s focus on spin options for English conditions. Radha Yadav, whose omission was considered a possibility before the announcement, has retained her place after strong domestic performances and previous success in England.However, the biggest surprise was the exclusion of Pratik Rawal from the T20 World Cup squad despite being among the players tipped to travel to England. Instead, she was included in the Indian squad for the one-off Test at Lord’s. Harleen Deol is also only in the Test squad, suggesting that the selectors see both players as longer format options for now.Yastika Bhatia’s return is another major development after recovering from ACL surgery during last year’s ODI World Cup warm-up camp. Her inclusion indicates that the team management has confidence in her fitness ahead of the global tournament.Meanwhile, Kashvee Gautam and Amanjot Kaur were unavailable for selection due to injuries, affecting India’s pace bowling depth. The selectors have also named separate squads for the England T20I series and the one-off Test at Lord’s, with the England tour expected to play a major role in India’s World Cup build-up.
India Women’s Squad for Women’s World Cup T20 2026 and T20I Series vs. England
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandini Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Yaud.
Indian women’s team for one-off Test against England at Lord’s
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nandini Sharma, Harleen Deol, Renuka Singh Thakury, Ranti Satghare, Sathali.
