New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Selection dilemmas will loom large as India prepares to unveil its squad for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup at the BCCI HQ in Mumbai on Saturday evening

The tenth edition of the mega event in the shortest format will be played in England from June 12 to July 5, where India will aim to win its first title and the squad for it will be announced in a press conference, after the selection committee is done with its meeting.

Expectations from the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will be high, especially after they won the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup on home soil. Though India ended a long wait for a global title in senior women’s cricket, it’s T20I record still remains mixed. India swept Sri Lanka 5-0 at home in December last year, and even defeated England in their backyard. They went on to edge Australia 2-1 away, but stumbled to a 4-1 defeat in South Africa last month.

That trip to South Africa saw the team management rotate the players heavily, rest vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and tested many players, though issues in bowling still remain a cause of concern. While a majority of the Indian squad is sorted, the Amita Sharma-led selection panel needs to decide on a couple of slots to complete the 15 member squad look.

Batting all-rounder Anushka Sharma and left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma were handed debut caps and fared decently, while big-hitting finisher Bharti Fulmali earned a recall after being out of the set-up for a long time.

It would be interesting to see whether those experiments translate into T20 World Cup spots for the trio, especially with hosts England picking three left-arm spinners for the 12-team competition.

Saturday’s meeting will extend beyond the T20 World Cup squad selection too. Teams for a three-game T20I series against England, set to be held before the World Cup and the one-off Test, to be played at Lord’s from July 10-13, will be named as well.

There’s also the matter of India ‘A’ squads to be picked for three 50-over games and as many T20 matches against England ‘A’. Should India opt for an out‑and‑out pace option for the World Cup, Nandni Sharma, who impressed for Delhi Capitals in WPL 2026, could be drafted in.

The selection of Nandni and Kashvee Gautam, who debuted in T20Is on tour of South Africa, will be interesting to see, particularly with Amanjot Kaur likely to be sidelined due to a back injury. Selectors may expand the squad to 17 or 18 for the T20I series against England, to be played from May 8 to June 2 and may open the door for Vaishnavi to be drafted in.

But with competition being fierce, Radha Yadav, Sneh Rana and G Kamalini risk missing out on featuring in the World Cup. Radha’s case is a curious one – she took six wickets in India securing a T20I series win in England last year, and hasn’t played in the format since then.

Radha had a strong time in RCB winning WPL 2026 – scoring 114 runs in 9 matches, including a knock of 66, though she picked only two wickets. In captaining India A to the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars title in Bangkok, Radha made 75 runs with the bat, and picked 10 wickets at five runs per over.

In West Zone becoming runners-up in the Senior Women’s Inter Zonal Multi Day Trophy, Radha made 224 runs in four innings, with a highest score of 108 and took 12 wickets with the ball to be at second place in both batting and bowling charts.

Yastika Bhatia adds another intriguing layer – the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter has resumed training after undergoing an ACL surgery due to a knee injury suffered in the ODI World Cup preparatory camp in Visakhapatnam last year.

Whether she reclaims the second keeper slot from Uma Chetry or eases back through India A duty will be closely watched. Standbys for the World Cup could double up in the India A squad, as they are touring England around the same time.

Harleen Deol and Pratika Rawal are among those tipped to travel with India ‘A’ squad, and use the tour to adapt to English conditions in advance ahead of the one‑off Test. But with the T20 World Cup looming, the choices made on Saturday evening at the BCCI HQ in Mumbai will hugely shape India’s pursuit of winning their first-ever title in the shortest format.

–IANS

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