Talking Points: New Face, Old Guards and a Missing Link

On Saturday, the BCCI announced the 15-player squad, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup in England. The selectors named three changes—most notably, uncapped Nandni Sharma, plus recalls for Yastika Bhatia and Radha Yadav.

A debut cap in a World Cup?

The selectors backed Nandni Sharma, the uncapped 24-year-old pacer. She swings the ball, generates bounce, and bowls deceptive slower deliveries across all phases. Despite international inexperience, she handled death-over pressure against world-class players in her maiden WPL season, finishing as joint-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps in 10 matches.

Where are the fast bowling all-rounders?

With Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam recovering from injuries and no update on Pooja Vastrakar, India lack a quality seam-bowling all-rounder for English conditions. Arundhati Reddy has improved as a batter but hasn't shown consistency internationally or in the WPL. She is expected to fill that role.

The absence of all-rounders has allowed India to strengthen bowling reserves—something the chief selector blamed for the recent South Africa series loss.

Yastika Bhatia, the 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, has been in and out of the side for nearly five years. Injuries have limited her to 19 T20Is, her last appearance nearly two years ago. She missed this WPL season after an ACL operation in October and hasn't played since September 2025. She's unlikely to start but strengthens back-up wicketkeeping and reserve opening options, replacing Uma Chetry.

The 'all-rounder' Radha finds interest

Radha Yadav, top-ranked T20I bowler in 2021, has seen her returns dip significantly. She hasn't featured since July 2025. However, her batting has improved markedly, making her a fine all-round option alongside electric fielding.

Her improvement was most visible in RCB's victorious WPL 2026 campaign, where she scored 114 runs at a strike rate of 140.74, often batting at No. 5, including a Player of the Match-winning 66.

Radha's inclusion provides a versatile back-up option, especially if Reddy can't shoulder the batting burden.

Bharti Fulmali has enjoyed a resurgence, backing up her Women's T20 Trophy exploits with destructive WPL batting—striking at 172.72 and 146.91 in the last two seasons. Her performances earned a recall, but in three South Africa outings, only one innings of note: a 30-ball 40 in a failed chase of 156. Selectors have backed her for big-hitting in the lower middle order. She's unlikely to start unless India use only five frontline bowlers.