India will enter the 2026 Women's Asia Cup determined to reclaim the continental crown after falling short in the previous edition.
And ahead of that, the BCCI has named the squad for the upcoming continental tournament. The upcoming Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format, with the competition scheduled to begin in the second half of August and conclude in September. The official match schedule is yet to be announced.
India remain the most decorated side in the history of the Women's Asia Cup, having won the title on seven occasions. Four of those triumphs came when the tournament was contested in the ODI format, while the remaining three have been in T20 cricket. Their title defence ended in 2024 when Sri Lanka lifted the trophy for the first
time, with captain Chamari Athapaththu delivering a tournament-winning performance to earn the Player of the Tournament award.
Harmanpreet Kaur will continue to lead the Indian side as they aim to regain the championship. She will once again have Smriti Mandhana as her deputy in a squad that features a blend of experienced campaigners and emerging talent.
The selectors have made a few notable changes compared to the squad that featured in the Women's T20 World Cup earlier this year. Teenage wicketkeeper G. Kamalini has earned a place in the main squad as the second wicketkeeping option, while Yastika Bhatia, despite her memorable century at Lord's in the recent Test match, has not been included.
India have also been forced into a change in the spin department. Shreyanka Patil continues to recover from the ankle ligament injury that ruled her out earlier, paving the way for leg-spinner Prema Rawat to earn a place in the squad. Apart from her bowling, Rawat is also capable of making useful contributions with the bat, adding greater balance to the side.
India Women's Squad for Asia Cup 2026
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), 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.
Reserves: Pratika Rawal, Uma Chetry, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare and Minnu Mani
