Quick Facts
Teams — Who's Playing?
Auto-Qualified
Qualifiers (TBC)
Format — How It Works
The 12 teams are split into two groups of 6. Each team plays 5 group stage matches. The top 3 from each group advance to the Super 6s stage, where they carry forward points from matches against other Super 6 qualifiers. The top 2 from Super 6s play the semi-finals, with the final at Lord's.
India Women's Squad — Who's Going?
Based on WPL 2026 performances and the T20I form guide heading into June 2026, India's likely playing XI for the WT20 World Cup:
- Top order: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk)
- Middle order: Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma
- All-rounders: Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani
- Bowlers: Renuka Singh, Titas Sadhu, Rashi Solanki
India will be captained by Smriti Mandhana following Harmanpreet Kaur's transition to a pure batting role after WPL 2026. The selection of a second genuine wicket-keeper (Richa Ghosh or Yastika Bhatia) is the key selection debate heading into the tournament.
Venues — What to Expect
- Lord's (Final): The smallest boundary in England — expect high-scoring matches. Spinners may struggle here.
- Edgbaston: Balanced pitch, good bounce. Fast bowlers will extract movement under lights.
- Headingley: Historically the fastest pitch in England. Pacers dominate here.
- Trent Bridge: Batting-friendly, smaller boundaries, high-scoring chases likely.
Favourites
Australiaremain the team to beat — they have won 6 of the 9 previous WT20 World Cups. Their pace attack, led by Megan Schutt and Ashleigh Gardner's spin variety, is the most complete in the tournament.
Englandas hosts have a strong chance, particularly at Lord's where they have an exceptional record. Nat Sciver-Brunt is arguably the best all-rounder in women's cricket.
India will be competitive if their batting fires — Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues are all in the top 10 ranked T20I batters globally. Their weakness is the death bowling — India lost 3 matches in WPL 2026 defending totals under 180.