As the Asian Games 2026 draw closer in Japan, from September 19 to October 4, the Indian women's cricket team sets off on their campaign to successfully defend the gold medal won with a stunning chase against Sri Lanka in Hangzhou. Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captaincy of Smriti Mandhana, the Women in Blue have a strong squad, albeit missing the impact of the middle-order batsman Jemimah Rodrigues, who is still recovering after sustaining a hamstring injury during The Hundred.

Receiving a direct entry into the quarterfinals as defending champions, India have only a few matches on the road to gold.

Players who could miss out on being selected for Asian Games 2026

1. G Kamalini (Back-up Wicketkeeper-Batter)

Eighteen-year-old G Kamalini has been called up as the back-up wicketkeeper after Yastika Bhatia. Kamalini has appeared in just one T20I before, scoring 12 runs on her debut against Sri Lanka. Besides her one international T20 opportunity, the young woman has played 14 WPL matches for Mumbai Indians. First-choice wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, with 88 T20I caps and 1,200-plus runs, retained her position as the first wicketkeeper, leaving Kamalini as the second option.

2. Radha Yadav (Left-Arm Spinner)

Radha Yadav is a highly experienced left-arm spinner in the squad, but she may find it hard to retain her spot as the first-choice left-arm spinner. The veteran leg-spinner has 106 wickets in 91 T20I matches at 6.65 per over, but Shree Charani has been outstanding this season. Shree has taken 42 wickets in 25 T20I matches at 16.23, so she has displaced Yadav, who now has to fight for a place in the playing XI.

3. Nandani Sharma (Medium Pacer)

Nandani Sharma is a young medium pacer who has been called up as the back-up medium pacer. Sharma has 7 wickets in 6 T20I matches so far, but the Indian pace attack is a settled one with plenty of experience. Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, and Kranti Gaud have all played more than 50 T20I matches, while Sharma has just 14 T20I matches to her name. Hence, she will have to wait for her opportunity to bowl in the decisive match against Australia.