Indian women’s cricketers have continued to expand their footprint in overseas franchise cricket in 2026, with players featuring in the Women’s Big Bash League, The Hundred and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League. While the numbers remain modest compared with India’s growing domestic ecosystem, the performances of Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey and Yastika Bhatia underline a rising global demand for Indian talent.
Indian Players in Overseas Leagues in 2026
| Sr No | Player | League | Franchise | Season/Involvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yastika Bhatia | Women’s Big Bash League; Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Brisbane Heat; Trinbago Knight Riders | WBBL 12, 2026 (late replacement for Jess Jonassen); WCPL debut season |
| 2 | Smriti Mandhana | The Hundred | Manchester Super Giants | 2026; direct signing |
| 3 | Jemimah Rodrigues | The Hundred | Southern Brave | 2026; retained |
| 4 | Deepti Sharma | The Hundred | Sunrisers Leeds | 2026; inaugural auction signing |
| 5 | Richa Ghosh | The Hundred | Manchester Super Giants | 2026; auction signing |
| 6 | Shikha Pandey | Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Trinbago Knight Riders | 2024 to 2026 |
| 7 | Pooja Vastrakar | Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Barbados Tridents | 2026; debut season |
| 8 | Kiran Navgire | Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Barbados Tridents | 2026; debut season |
| 9 | Sushma Verma | Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Trinbago Knight Riders | 2026; late replacement |
| 10 | Harleen Deol | Women’s Caribbean Premier League | Barbados Tridents | 2026; mid-season signing |
Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) [Australia]
Yastika Bhatia became the only Indian player in the ongoing 12th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League after joining Brisbane Heat as a last-minute replacement for former skipper Jess Jonassen, who was ruled out with a hip injury. The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has had a quiet beginning, making 1 off three balls against Sydney Thunder on 1 November and 16 off 18 balls against Adelaide Strikers on 5 November, both in Sydney.
Brisbane Heat’s 14-run win over the Adelaide Strikers ended a 706-day losing streak, offering Bhatia a small but meaningful platform to build on. Led by Georgia Redmayne, the Heat had lost their opening fixtures to the Sydney Sixers by four wickets and the Sydney Thunder by six wickets. They are scheduled to face the defending champions Hobart Hurricanes, led by the new skipper Nicola Carey, on 7 November at Allan Border Field, with the tournament running from 29 October to 5 December.
The Women’s Hundred [England]
Smriti Mandhana was Manchester Super Giants’ standout batter in the sixth edition of The Hundred, finishing as their leading run-scorer with 232 runs at a strike rate of 138.92 and an average of 38.66 in seven innings. Her campaign included an unbeaten half-century, though Meg Lanning’s side finished fourth with 18 points from eight games, recording four wins, three defeats and one washed-out match.
Jemimah Rodrigues was retained by Southern Brave and contributed 143 runs at a strike rate of 131.19 and an average of 35.75 in six innings. She won two Player of the Match awards before a right hamstring injury on 3 August ended her season. Southern Brave finished third with 20 points from eight games, but their campaign ended in the Eliminator after a five-wicket loss to Danielle Gibson’s Sunrisers Leeds.
Deepti Sharma was the tournament’s joint leading wicket-taker, claiming 13 wickets at 13.53 with an economy rate of 7.28 in nine innings. Signed at her base price of £27,500 in the inaugural Women’s Hundred auction on 11 March, she also made 69 runs at a strike rate of 115, sharing the bowling honours with Trent Rockets’ Samantha Bates and Southern Brave’s Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
Richa Ghosh, signed by Manchester Super Giants at her £50,000 base price, scored 114 runs at a strike rate of 125.27 and an average of 19 in seven innings. Her season reflected the promise of a powerful finisher still finding consistency in English conditions.
Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) [West Indies]
Shikha Pandey remained one of the most reliable Indian exports in the WCPL, representing Trinbago Knight Riders since the 2024 edition. Across 13 matches, she has taken 16 wickets at 18.81 with an economy of 6.24, while also scoring 178 runs. In the 2026 edition, she took seven wickets at 11.57 with an economy of 5.17, finishing as a joint leading wicket-taker alongside Deandra Dottin and Shabnim Ismail.
Yastika Bhatia enjoyed an impressive WCPL debut for Trinbago Knight Riders, scoring 98 runs at a strike rate of 138.02 and an average of 49 in three innings, including an unbeaten half-century. Sushma Verma later replaced her for the knockout stages and made 39 off 34 balls in the final, where Knight Riders posted 145 for six before losing by two wickets to Guyana Amazon Warriors.
At Barbados Tridents, Pooja Vastrakar had a quiet season with 14 runs in four innings, while Kiran Navgire made 74 runs at a strike rate of 129.82 in her debut campaign. Harleen Deol, signed mid-season on 12 September, managed three runs in two innings. Barbados finished third in the league stage and exited in the playoffs after a seven-wicket defeat to Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Why Fewer Indians Feature
Fewer Indian women cricketers appear in some overseas franchise seasons because of workload management, fatigue, a congested international and domestic calendar, and national-duty commitments. The launch of the Tata WPL in 2023 has also reshaped priorities, giving players a high-profile home franchise platform while influencing auction dynamics, squad requirements and conditioning schedules.
Even so, demand for Indian players is clearly growing. Mandhana’s consistency, Deepti’s all-round value, Pandey’s experience and Bhatia’s adaptability demonstrate that Indian women cricketers are increasingly viewed not merely as marketable names, but as genuine match-winners in the leading franchise leagues around the world.
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