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After a disappointing performance in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in England, the Indian women’s team is now turning its focus to the upcoming Asian Games.
For the 2026 Asian Games, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has announced the full squad on the morning of June 20, with Harmanpreet Kaur as the captain and Smriti Mandhana as the deputy.
Team India, the defending champion of the upcoming 2026 Asian Games
The Blue Women will be the defending champions at the upcoming Asian Games as they won the gold medal in the previous campaign in China. The upcoming Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September 2026.
The board has selected the strongest possible team for the tournament, as they will head to Japan to defend the title. However, Shreyanka Patil’s participation in this format will be subject to her fitness status before the tournament.
Shreyanka Patil got hurt
Indian off-spinner Shreyanka Patil sprained her right ankle during a league match against the Netherlands and was ruled out of the match. Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Shreyanka was taken off the field on a stretcher and was later replaced in the squad. He has still not regained his full match fitness. In his place, the team management has included uncapped leg spinner Prema Rawat in the team for the T20 World Cup.
The selectors have confidence in Shreyanka Patil for the 2026 Asian Games squad, but her participation is in doubt due to an ankle injury. Prema Rawat, who replaced the injured spinner during the Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, is not named in the current squad.
India’s squad for 2026 Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), G. Kamalini (wicketkeeper), Bharti Phulmali, Shree Charanani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaur, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandini Sharma.
Australia excludes India from 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup
The Women in Blue started their T20 World Cup campaign with pure promise and ended with complete disappointment. To qualify for the semi-finals, they will have to defeat Australia in their final group stage match, as the South Africa women’s team was in a strong position after defeating the Bangladesh women’s cricket team last Sunday.
On the same date, the India match was followed by the South Africa vs Bangladesh match. As South Africa claimed victory, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had no option but to overcome the Australian hurdle.
After winning the toss, Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues batted well in the first innings. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur played a stormy half-century innings during this period. He batted well but his bowling was lacking.
Australia ultimately won the match easily and prevented the Women in Blue from advancing in the title race. Batting first, Team India scored 170 runs for 4 wickets in 20 overs. Australia achieved the target with one over to spare. They won it by 6 wickets.
