Harmanpreet to lead, Mandhana deputy: India name 15 for Women's T20 World Cup 2026
India announced their 15-member squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, with Harmanpreet Kaur returning to lead the side and Smriti Mandhana confirmed as her deputy. The tournament runs in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, and India open their campaign against Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 14.
The selection committee, chaired by Amita Sharma, named the squad at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Harmanpreet leads India at a Women's T20 World Cup for the fifth time, having taken charge in 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2024 before this assignment. Mandhana, who has deputised regularly across the last two years, takes the vice-captain's badge into her sixth T20 World Cup.
The 15-member squad
India's squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav.
Four of the names will play their first T20 World Cup. Bharti Fulmali, the 31-year-old Vidarbha finisher who attracted a 70 lakh bid at the WPL 2026 mega auction, joins fellow debutants Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani and Kranti Gaud in a squad that keeps the core of the 2025 ODI World Cup-winning side and adds picks driven by recent WPL form.
The notable absentees
Harleen Deol and Amanjot Kaur, both regulars across the last 18 months of bilateral cricket, miss out, as does spinner Sneh Rana. Selection chair Amita Sharma said Deol is still in India's plans for the one-off Test against England that follows the World Cup, but Fulmali was preferred for the more aggressive T20 middle-order role. Amanjot's seam-bowling slot goes to Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy alongside the breakout pick of Kranti Gaud, whose pace has caught the eye in the WPL.
The bowling group leans heavily on spin. Deepti Sharma, the player of the tournament at the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, leads the spin attack with Shree Charani, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav. Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy and Kranti Gaud carry the seam workload.
The build-up: a tour of England
India travel to England before the tournament for a three-match T20I series, with the opening game in Chelmsford on May 28, followed by Bristol on May 30 and Taunton on June 2. The series doubles as the squad's main acclimatisation window before the World Cup opens 10 days later.
India sit in Group A with Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. The Pakistan opener at Edgbaston is followed by group games before the semi-finals, with the final at Lord's on July 5. Harmanpreet's side go in as one of the favourites, off the back of last November's ODI World Cup win and a settled top three of Mandhana, Shafali and Rodrigues.
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