Nandni Sharma, the 24-year-old pacer, earned her maiden call-up to the national team after being included in India's 15-player squad for the upcoming 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, set to be played in England from June 12 to July 5. The uncapped pacer from Chandigarh was the joint-highest wicket-taker in her maiden season of the Women's Premier League, returning 17 wickets in WPL 2026 for Delhi Capitals.
The squad also sees the return of wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia and all-rounder Radha Yadav to the side, while Anushka Sharma, Uma Chetry and Kashvee Gautam have been left out. Kashvee missed out as she was unavailable due to a right knee injury.
The squad, to be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in Mumbai, on Saturday (May 2). Harmanpreet, who has been part of the Indian squad since the inaugural T20 World Cup edition, will lead the side for the fifth time in the global tournament.
Radha's inclusion bolsters India's spin attack, which also includes Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil - all three of whom were among the more successful bowlers in the South Africa series.
@B0$ Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Bharti Fulmali, Yastika Bhatia, Nandni Sharma, Radha Yadav
India, the reigning champions of the 50-over World Cup, haven't enjoyed the best of runs in T20Is in recent months. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, they have won 13 out of 21 matches, including series wins in England and Australia. However, this year, they have won only 3 out of 8 T20Is, with four of the losses coming in the recently-concluded five-match series against South Africa.
India's World Cup campaign is set to kickstart on June 14, against Pakistan in Birmingham. Placed in Group A, India will face Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia in the group stage. The top-two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals which are set to be played at The Oval.
The Indian squad for the World Cup will assemble for a training camp before heading to England for a three-match T20I series. The squad for the preparatory series will be the same as that of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Nandni has also been picked in India's Test squad for the first-ever Women's Test to be played at Lord's, starting July 10, following the World Cup. The selectors have also backed the uncapped duo of Harleen Deol and Shree Charani. While Chetry, Kashvee, Vaishnavi Sharma and Amanjot Kaur have been left out from the squad that played in Australia, Yastika has been handed a recall.
@B1$ Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Varma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nandini Sharma, Harleen Deol, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sayali Satghare, Sneh Rana
