Defending champions and two-time winners Mumbai Indians kickstarted the Women’s Premier League (WPL 2026) season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) today (December 9). However, a big name missing from their lineup for the MI-W vs RCB-W clash was West Indies star all-rounder Hayley Matthews. The latest WPL 2026 news has a few other key players also missing the opening game of WPL 2026.
The news of the same was confirmed by MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur during the coin toss, which she lost and opposition skipper Smriti Mandhana put them to bat first. It is understood that Hayley is unwell and has hence been left out of the lineup.
Speaking at the toss Harmanpreet said, “We’ve been practicing for the last 10 days, and everyone looks in good touch. We’ve got a well-balanced side, pretty similar to what we’ve had over the last three seasons, so we’re confident heading into the game. Hayley (Matthews) is unwell and not playing.”
For the unversed, Hayley Matthews has also missed considerable cricket since last year, skipping the WCPL and the WBBL owing to her shoulder surgery.
In Matthews’ absence, Aussie cricketer Nicola Carey has been handed her debut.
The 27-year-old Caribbean all-rounder played a crucial role last season to help MI win their second title. Hayley finished as the top wicket-taker of the tournament with fellow teammate Amelia Kerr, snaring 18 scalps including 3 three-wicket hauls. With the bat as well, she was the third-highest scorer of the edition, racking up 307 runs in 10 innings at an impressive average of 30.70, which includes three fifties too.
Not just the previous season, Hayley has been with the franchise since the inception of WPL and was also one of the top performers during MI’s title win in the inaugural season.
Hayley was thus subsequently retained by MI prior to the WPL 2026 auction for a price of INR 1.75 crores.
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Mumbai Indians Women: Nat Sciver-Brunt, G Kamalini(w), Amelia Kerr, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Amanjot Kaur, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajeevan Sajana, Saika Ishaque
RCB Women: Smriti Mandhana(c), Grace Harris, Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh(w), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
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