India Women’s Cricket Squad for Asian Games 2026 Announced: Harmanpreet Kaur Returns to Lead Gold Medal Defence

Defending champions retain experienced core with Smriti Mandhana named vice-captain, while Shreyanka Patil’s inclusion remains subject to fitness clearance

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s women’s cricket squad for the 2026 Asian Games, with Harmanpreet Kaur set to captain the defending champions in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Harmanpreet will lead India at the continental event for the second consecutive edition after guiding the team to gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. Smriti Mandhana has once again been appointed vice-captain.

The 15-member squad features a blend of experienced internationals and emerging talent, with Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur among the senior players retained.

One notable inclusion is all-rounder Shreyanka Patil, whose selection is subject to fitness clearance.

The women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games will be held from September 17 to 22, two days before the official opening ceremony, with eight teams competing in a straight knockout format starting from the quarter-finals.

India head into the tournament as defending champions after defeating Sri Lanka in the final at Hangzhou 2023, having beaten Bangladesh in the semi-finals.

The announcement also comes shortly after India secured automatic qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics by finishing as the highest-ranked Asian team at the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

India women’s cricket squad for Asian Games 2026

• Harmanpreet Kaur (captain)
• Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain)
• Shafali Verma
• Jemimah Rodrigues
• Deepti Sharma
• Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper)
• Gunalan Kamalini (wicketkeeper)
• Bharti Fulmali
• Sree Charani
• Renuka Thakur
• Kranti Gaud
• Arundhati Reddy
• Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness clearance)
• Radha Yadav
• Nandni Sharma

India will be aiming to successfully defend the Asian Games gold medal they won on their tournament debut in 2023. Meanwhile, the men’s team, led by Shreyas Iyer, will also compete in Aichi-Nagoya, with teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi included in the squad.