India have made one significant change to their squad for the women’s cricket tournament at the 2026 Asian Games, selecting young wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini in place of Yastika Bhatia. The tournament will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 17 to 22, 2026.
India’s tournament squad is largely unchanged since the team last appeared together during their group stage exit at ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
G Kamalini Earns Call-Up
The 17-year old Kamalini has made her way to the reserves of Asian Games squad as a wicket keeper. She made her international debut for India in the home T20I series against Sri Lanka in December 2025.
So far, Kamalini has only played a single T20I, in which she opened the innings to score 12 runs off 12 deliveries. She has had strong performances for Mumbai Indians in the WPL in the last couple of seasons which have again brought her back into contention at the international level.
Kamalini has played more than 15 matches in her domestic T20 career and scored 119 runs at an average of 14.87. Flexibility in batting positions She’s had multiple innings as an opener while also contributing from the lower middle order.
Yastika Bhatia Left Out
Yastika Bhatia: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Yastika has been dropped from the squad after a poor T20 World Cup in which she managed just 2 runs (Playing against Australia Women)
Bhatia featured in four matches during the tournament and scored 41 runs in three innings at an average of 13.66, with a strike rate of 117.14. She batted at several positions between No.3 and No.5 as India shuffled their middle order during the tournament.
During India’s last group-stage game against Australia, Bhatia batted out of position (lower down the order) and did not have a chance to bat.
Shreyanka Patil (Subject to fitness)
The squad also includes all-rounder Shreyanka Patil, but she’ll only be included once she is passed fit to return.
India T20s Mitaka Patil has been ruled out of the rest of the T20 World Cup due to an ankle ligament injury sustained against the Netherlands. With her missing out, leg-spinner Prema Rawat was also named to the World Cup squad and played in one game.
But Rawat has not been included in the Asian Games due to the team management putting its trust in Patil’s return from injury before the event.
India, who clinched Asian Games gold
India will put up the defending champions title for a repeat gold past performance to book it along history books of 2026 Asian Games. India was crowned the champion in the last edition after claiming a 19-run victory against Sri Lanka in the final.
Eight teams will compete in women’s cricket at the 2026 Asian Games;
- India
- Bangladesh
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Japan
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- China
India Women’s squad for 2026 Asian Games
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Shree Charani, Renuka Singh, Bharti Fulmali, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness clearance), Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma.
