India have announced their squad for the upcoming 2026 Women’s Asia Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur is set to lead the strong 15 member squad. The dates for the tournament is yet to be announced but it will be played before the Asian Games which will take place from September 17 to 22. India have named a largely similar squad to the recent 2026 T20 World Cup with the only notable absentee being Shreyanka Patil who is yet to recover from injury.
India are the most successful team in the Women’s Asia Cup history having won seven titles. They suffered a defeat in the final of last edition to Sri Lanka who beat India by eight wickets in the 2024 final. Chamari Athapaththu was the star of that campaign, finishing as Player of the Tournament with 304 runs and leading her side to their first-ever Women’s Asia Cup title. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team will be keen to bring back the title this time around.
Harmanpreet Kaur to captain India at 2026 Women’s Asia Cup; Smriti Mandhana named vice-captain
The BCCI has named a balanced 15-member squad for the tournament. Harmanpreet continues as captain, with Smriti Mandhana as her deputy. The batting group includes Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, along with Bharati Fulmali. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav provide all-round spin options, while Richa Ghosh and G. Kamalini are the wicketkeepers in the squad. The pace attack will be led by Renuka Thakur and Arundhati Reddy, with younger players like Nandini Sharma and Kranti Gaud also in the mix.
India Women’s squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharati Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G. Kamalini (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Nandini Sharma, Kranti Gaud.
India Women created history by winning the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup, but the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup proved a disappointment where they did not make it to the semis. They won against Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands but suffered losses to South Africa and Australia, and crashed out of the tournament. Now they get another chance to add a major multi-nation trophy. Sri Lanka will be eager to defend their title, while Pakistan, Bangladesh and a few other sides are expected to compete well. There is plenty of experience in the squad and India will be looking to have a good tournament.
