India names Harmanpreet-led T20 squad

India’s women’s T20 side is set now — and the main news is that India has stuck with its core. Harmanpreet Kaur will captain the 15-player squad for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, with Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain, and the same group will also play the three-match T20I series in England right before the tournament. The selectors met in Mumbai on May 2, and India opens its World Cup on June 14 against Pakistan in Birmingham. ### Who made the squad? The batting spine looks familiar. Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Yastika Bhatia are all in. The fuller squad also includes Bharti Fulmali, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav. Basically, India has gone for a mix of proven names and a few newer options rather than a late surprise-heavy build. ### What’s the biggest selection call? Nandni Sharma is the name that jumps out. She gets in after a breakout WPL season, where she took 17 wickets and finished level with Sophie Devine at the top of the wicket charts, while also being named Emerging Player of the Season. That matters because India has clearly decided current T20 form can force its way into a World Cup squad, even in a team that already has a settled core. ### Who missed out? Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam were unavailable because of injury. Harleen Deol also misses the T20 World Cup squad, and Indian reports say Uma Chetry and Anushka Sharma are out as well. The Amanjot absence looks especially important because Harmanpreet called her a key player and said she could be away from cricket for four to five months. That tells you this was not a marginal omission — India lost a role-player they genuinely valued. ### Why does Amanjot’s absence matter so much? Because balance matters more than names in T20 cricket. Amanjot gives India a seam-bowling all-round option and helps glue together the middle overs and death overs. Without her, India has to redistribute that workload — maybe through Bharti Fulmali’s batting role, maybe through extra overs from Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy or Renuka Thakur. The catch is that replacing one player’s skills is easy on paper and messy in real matches. Harmanpreet more or less said that outright when she admitted replacing Amanjot was hard. ### Are there any comeback stories here? Yes — Yastika Bhatia and Radha Yadav are back in the T20 World Cup squad. That gives India another wicketkeeping option beyond Richa Ghosh and another left-arm spin angle through Radha. In a short tournament, those small tactical differences matter a lot, especially in England where matchups and conditions can change quickly from venue to venue. ### What does the tournament path look like? India is in Group A with Australia, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa. The schedule is front-loaded with attention — Pakistan first on June 14 — but the harder read on India’s campaign probably comes later, with South Africa on June 21 and Australia on June 28 at Lord’s. India exited at the group stage in the 2024 edition, so this squad is being judged against that recent failure, not just against the long-term dream of winning a maiden women’s T20 world title. ### Why does this squad feel more important than usual? Because India is coming in with more weight behind it than before. The team is fresh off its 50-over World Cup triumph, and Harmanpreet is leading India at this tournament for the fifth time. So this is not a reset squad. It’s a “finish the job” squad — experienced enough to expect a deep run, but still carrying a few unresolved questions around balance and injury cover. ### Bottom line India didn’t tear up the plan. It backed its stars, rewarded Nandni Sharma’s rise, and accepted that injury forced at least one uncomfortable compromise. If this team goes deep in England, it will be because the core delivers. If it stumbles, the missing all-round balance will be the first thing people point to.