NEW DELHI: Harmanpreet Kaur was on Tuesday retained as captain of a largely predictable 15-member India squad for this year’s Asian Games in Japan despite the side’s earlier than expected exit from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England.
The Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4. The Indian team’s World Cup campaign ended on Sunday after a group stage loss to Australia.
The team will enter the Asian Games as defending champions, having won the gold medal at the event’s previous edition in Hangzhou, China in 2023.
Smriti Mandhana will continue to be Harmanpreet’s deputy.
Wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia is the only player to be dropped from the World Cup squad and in her place G Kamalini has been drafted into the side.
Shreyanka Patil, who was ruled out with an ankle injury in the middle of the World Cup, has been included in the squad but her availability will be subject to fitness.
Harmanpreet will be supported in the batting line-up by Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh, while the bowling responsibilities will largely be shouldered by Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy and Nandni Sharma.
India’s squad for the 2026 Asian Games
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma.
