The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-member squad for the Indian women’s team heading to the 2026 Asian Games. Veteran all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will continue her role as captain, with Smriti Mandhana stepping in as vice-captain. Harmanpreet, who has been at the helm for India across various formats for several years, is set to lead the team once more in this prestigious event. This announcement comes just two days after India faced an early exit in the group stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup. Despite that disappointment, the selectors have chosen to keep nearly the entire squad intact, showing their confidence in the current lineup. The only change is the inclusion of young wicketkeeper G. Kamalini, who takes the place of Yastika Bhatia.
India will head into the tournament as the defending champions, having clinched the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. The women’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games is scheduled to take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 17 to 22, while the overall Games will run from September 19 to October 4. Once again, India is expected to be a strong contender for the title.
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India Bank on Continuity to Claim Asian Games 2026
Cricket is making its mark at the Asian Games for the fourth time as a medal event. It first made its debut in Guangzhou back in 2010 and returned for a second round in Incheon in 2014, although India didn’t take part in either of those editions. Fast forward to 2023, and India finally stepped onto the Asian Games stage in Hangzhou, which was technically the postponed 2022 Games, and they clinched the gold medal in their very first appearance.
Entering the Hangzhou event as the top-ranked team, India secured a direct spot in the knockout stage. Their quarter-final match against Malaysia was unfortunately called off due to rain after India had set a solid score of 173/2 in just 15 overs, allowing them to advance based on their superior seeding.
In the semi-finals, India faced Bangladesh and triumphed by eight wickets, bowling them out for a mere 51 runs, with Pooja Vastrakar shining brightly with impressive figures of 4/17. The final saw India defend a total of 116/7, defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with 46 runs, Jemimah Rodrigues contributed 42, and Titas Sadhu stole the spotlight with remarkable bowling figures of 3/6.
Throughout the tournament, Jemimah emerged as India’s top run-scorer with 109 runs, Shafali Verma notched the highest individual score of 67, and Pooja wrapped up the campaign with five wickets to her name.
India’s 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 (subject to fitness), Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma.
