With the sixth edition of The Hundred set to unfold from 21 July to 16 August 2026, all eyes will be on a quartet of Indian players whose skill sets promise to influence outcomes across eight competitive franchises.
Coming off contrasting fortunes at the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales, where India, under Harmanpreet Kaur, fell short of expectations after a six-wicket loss to Sophie Molineux’s Australia at Lord’s, these players arrive with clear roles: finishing power, top-order authority, middle-order stability and spin all-round utility. Their presence heightens both the tactical depth of their respective sides and the tournament’s appeal to global audiences.
Richa Ghosh (Manchester Super Giants)
Richa Ghosh brings her trademark attacking wicket-keeping and finishing instincts to the rebranded Manchester Super Giants. At 22, she showed glimpses of that game-changing potency in the T20 World Cup, scoring 80 runs across five matches at a strike rate of 153.84 and an average of 26.66. In The Hundred’s specific context, she’s already a known quantity: across previous editions, she has amassed 169 runs in 10 innings (11 matches) at a strike rate of 107.64 and an average of 16.90 while representing London Spirit and Birmingham Phoenix.
In Manchester’s setup, alongside fellow Indian Smriti Mandhana, Ghosh’s role will likely be to provide late-innings acceleration and nimble glovework, the kind of high-impact contributions that can swing short-format contests.
Smriti Mandhana (Manchester Super Giants)
Smriti Mandhana arrives as one of the tournament’s proven top-order elites and a major acquisition for Manchester. She finished as India’s leading run-scorer at the recent T20 World Cup with 205 runs from five innings at a strike rate of 140.41 and an average of 41, producing the kind of anchored aggression teams crave at the top.
Her history in The Hundred, primarily with Southern Brave, includes 676 runs in 29 innings (29 matches) at a strike rate of 139.09 and an average of 26, with five half-centuries that underline her consistency. Now opening for the SuperGiants, Mandhana’s combination of timing, strike rotation and boundary-hitting will be central to Manchester’s plans to set or chase competitive totals.
Jemimah Rodrigues (Southern Brave)
Jemimah Rodrigues joins Southern Brave as a player whose technical fluency and flair suit the condensed, high-risk format. In the T20 World Cup she scored 92 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 119.48 and an average of 18.40, continuing to blend composure with scoring intent. Her Women’s Hundred resume remains strong from her time with Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds), where she tallied 453 runs in 18 innings (19 matches) at a strike rate of 137.68 and an average of 26.64, including four fifties.
For Southern Brave, Rodrigues offers middle-order solidity and the capacity to build or finish innings under pressure, qualities that could prove decisive as the tournament progresses.
Deepti Sharma (Sunrisers Leeds)
Deepti Sharma’s all-round package, off-spin control and late-order hitting, remains a prized asset for Sunrisers Leeds. At the recent T20 World Cup, she contributed 60 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 171.42 and returned seven wickets at an average of 19.14 and an economy of 7.05, including a memorable five-wicket haul. Her Women’s Hundred track record (including stints with London Spirit) is impressive: 289 runs in 12 innings (16 matches) at a strike rate of 126.75 and an outstanding batting average of 57.80, plus 18 wickets in 16 innings at an average of 17.38 and an economy of 6.05. In Leeds, she will be relied upon to control middle overs with her off-spin and chip in with brisk contributions down the order, an ideal balance for a format that prizes versatile match-winners.
As The Hundred opens at Kennington Oval on 21 July with MI London facing Sunrisers Leeds, these four Indians will carry not just individual ambitions but the hopes of a fanbase eager to see them translate international form into franchise success. Each brings a distinct skill: finishing fire, elite top-order craft, middle-order composure and spin all-round value, ingredients that should make this edition richer and more competitive.
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