Coming into the 2026 edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), few people had Royal Challengers Bengaluru down as favourite for the title.

There were questions about its squad construction, fitness question marks surrounding key players, and its unfortunate habit of failing to get over the line in tight situations in 2025 to contend with.

It came as something of a surprise then, that the franchise ended up securing its second title in clinical style. It was comfortably the best team in the tournament, winning all but two of the eight games it played and defeating all four other teams on its way to the trophy.

The next challenge for Smriti Mandhana, Malolan Rangarajan, and the group is to replicate that in 2027.

Perhaps intimidatingly for other franchises, it should theoretically get stronger with the possible return of Ellyse Perry, who missed out on the competition after withdrawing for personal reasons.

The Indian number four

Perry’s return would boost a batting line-up that dominated last year, scoring faster than any other side. However, if she slots back into the RCB top-order, it will require RCB to rejig its overseas combination.

RCB operated with Grace Harris opening alongside Smriti Mandhana, with Georgia Voll at number three, but bringing in Perry could force one of the two to miss out. Their absence coupled with a loss of form from one of the top three could potentially put pressure on what was a flexible middle-order last year.

Radha Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Pooja Vastrakar, and Nadine de Klerk generally occupied number five and below, but the number four slot remained somewhat unresolved until the end of the tournament.

Dayalan Hemalatha began the tournament before Gautami Naik took over, winning Player of the Match against Gujarat Giants after scoring 73, before her form fell away. Richa played the final two matches at four, albeit as a finisher in comfortable chases.

This is a solution RCB could return to, with Richa having batted at four for Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred as well, but it could look to target another Indian batter to provide more consistent returns at the position as well. If it does, it may consider releasing one or both of Hemalatha and Gautami.

New ball back-up

Lauren Bell proved a revelation with the new ball in 2026. The lanky English seamer utilised her extra height and accuracy to devastating effect, consistently choking batters in the PowerPlay to deny them any momentum at the start of the innings.

Bell was a vital part of the England national set-up and Southern Brave over the English summer, but seemed to tire towards the end, particularly in the one-off Test against India at Lord’s.

RCB will be keen to ensure that it has a reliable back-up for Bell in case of an injury or loss in form. Sayali Satghare generally shared the new ball with her, while Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil can also take the new ball, but the only other overseas bowler in the squad is Bell’s England new-ball partner Linsey Smith.

Smith played the first three matches of last season but proved ineffective, going wicketless at an economy rate of 10. RCB ultimately opted to rejig its combination by bringing in Georgia Voll, and stayed with that overseas set for the rest of the tournament.

Should it want a different foreign option to serve as a back-up to Bell, Smith could potentially be a candidate for release.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad in 2026: Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Prathyoosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha, Sayali Satghare (replacement for Ellyse Perry)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru possible releases: Gautami Naik (0.10 cr), Dayalan Hemalatha (0.10 cr), Linsey Smith (0.30 cr).

Published on Sep 28, 2026