THE BOARD OF CONTROL for Cricket in India (BCCI) has retained Harmanpreet Kaur as captain of the Indian women’s cricket team for the 2026 Asian Games, backing the experienced all-rounder despite the team’s disappointing group-stage exit from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The announcement was made by the Women’s Selection Committee as India shifted its focus towards defending its Asian Games gold medal in Japan.
Harmanpreet will continue to lead the side at the continental event, while Smriti Mandhana has been retained as vice-captain. The 15-member squad largely mirrors the group that featured at the Women’s T20 World Cup, signalling the selectors’ confidence in the core group despite the recent setback.
India enter the Asian Games as defending champions, having won the inaugural women’s cricket gold medal at the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023. Cricket will again be played in the T20 format during the Games, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
The selectors’ decision comes just days after India’s early exit from the Women’s T20 World Cup in England, where the team failed to progress beyond the group stage following a defeat to Australia. After the loss, Harmanpreet admitted that India had “not played well against good teams” and called for a thorough reassessment of the team’s approach ahead of future tournaments.
The squad features most of India’s established stars, including Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh. One notable change sees wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia replaced by young wicketkeeper G Kamalini. Meanwhile, all-rounder Shreyanka Patil has been included, subject to fitness clearance.
