Nandni Sharma earns call-up for T20 World Cup

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, while Anushka Sharma, Uma Chetry and Kashvee Gautam have been left out. Kashvee missed out due to a right knee injury.

The squad, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, was announced by BCCI in Mumbai on Saturday (May 2). Harmanpreet 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 among the more successful bowlers in the South Africa series.

T20 World Cup Squad: 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 have won 13 out of 21 T20Is since the 2024 T20 World Cup, including series wins in England and Australia. However, this year they have won only 3 out of 8 T20Is, with four losses coming in the recently-concluded five-match series against South Africa.

India's World Cup campaign kicks off on June 14 against Pakistan in Birmingham. Placed in Group A, India will face Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia. The top-two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals at The Oval.

The squad will assemble for a training camp before heading to England for a three-match T20I series with the same squad.

Nandni has also been picked in India's Test squad for the first-ever Women's Test at Lord's, starting July 10. The selectors have also backed uncapped duo Harleen Deol and Shree Charani. Chetry, Kashvee, Vaishnavi Sharma and Amanjot Kaur have been left out from the squad that played in Australia, while Yastika has been recalled.

Squad for one-off Test: 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