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After the heartbreaking run in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in England, the Indian Women’s team is now shifting its focus to the upcoming Asian Games.
For the 2026 Asian Games, BCCI (The 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 her deputy.
Team India, the defending champions of the upcoming 2026 Asian Games
The Women in Blue will be the defending champions in the upcoming Asian Games event 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 picked up the strongest possible team for the tournament, as they will go to Japan to defend the title. However, Shreyanka Patil’s participation in the format will be subject to her fitness status ahead of the tournament.
The injury to Shreyanka Patil
Indian off-spinner Shreyanka Patil twisted her right ankle during a league match against the Netherlands and was ruled out of the Women's T20 World Cup 2026. Shreyanka was stretchered off the field and subsequently replaced in the squad. She is yet to regain her full match fitness. In place of her, the team management named uncapped leg-spinner Prema Rawat for the T20 World Cup.
For the 2026 Asian Games squad, the selectors keep their trust in Shreyanka Patil, but her participation is in doubt due to the ankle injury. Prema Rawat, who was the replacement for the injured spinner during the Women's T20 World Cup campaign, is not named in the current team.
Full squad for the 2026 Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma.
Australia eliminated India from the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup
The Women in Blue started their T20 World Cup campaign with pure promise and ended in utter disappointment. To qualify for the semifinals, they needed to defeat Australia in their final group stage match, as the South Africa women's team were in a strong position after beating the Bangladesh women's cricket team on the previous Sunday.
On the same date, India's match was after the South Africa vs Bangladesh fixture. As South Africa claimed the win, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team had no choice but to surpass the Australian hurdle.
Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues batted well in the first innings after winning the toss. The skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, played a stormy half-century in the process. They batted well but lacked in bowling.
Australia eventually won the match with ease and restricted the Women in Blue from making further progress in the title race. Batting first, Team India registered 170 runs in 20 overs against only 4 wickets. Australia edged past the target with one more over to spare. They won it by 6 wickets.
