In the 8th match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 edition, Mumbai Indians will take on the UP Warriorz at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 15. Mumbai Indians won back-to-back games in the tournament, clearly stating that they are here to defend the title. Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper, has shouldered the responsibility of batting, and her performance this season is worth its weight in gold. Mumbai still have plenty of guns left to fire in their squad, but their performance so far has been nothing short of dominant. As they gear up to challenge Meg Lanning’s side, here are the top 3 players to look out for:
Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper, seems to be doing nothing wrong at the moment with some genuine match-winning performances recently. In her T20I career, 3784 runs from 167 innings and has also picked up 32 wickets. In the WPL, she has been one of the best players of Mumbai Indians with 1016 runs from 30 innings at a strike rate of 146. She was named the player of the match in the match against Gujarat Giants as she scored 71 off 43, including a sublime six over the covers that mesmerized the cricketing world. Kaur will be looking to win many more matches for her side and probably defend their title as well.
Nicola Carey
Nicola Carey, the Australian all-rounder, has been a fine addition to Mumbai Indians’ side with her contributions with both bat and ball. In her T20I career, she has scored 60 runs from 12 innings, and she has picked up 19 wickets from her 24 innings. Nicola Carey made her WPL debut this season, and she has already been a significant talking point of the star-studded side. She has scored 99 runs off her 3 innings, and she has also picked up 6 wickets from her 3 innings. Carey is currently doing the job of a fast-bowling all-rounder, which is a very valuable feature to have in the T20 setup.
Hayley Matthews
Hayley Matthews, the Barbadian all-rounder, has been a star player for the West Indies and her franchise clubs. In her T20I career, she has scored 2975 runs from 112 innings at a strike rate of 115, and she has also picked up 113 wickets from 105 innings at an economy of 6. In her WPL career, she has scored 780 runs from 30 innings at a strike rate of 122, and she has also picked up 42 wickets from 30 innings at an economy rate of 7. After having missed the first two games, she played against the Giants and performed quite well with a quickfire 22 off 12 balls, and she picked up the wicket of the dangerous-looking Kanika Ahuja. She would be crucial to Mumbai’s plans, and she will be eager to contribute even more.
Loves all things female cricket