RCB and MI will kickstart the WPL 2026 on January 9.
The highly anticipated Women’s Premier League is just hours away from kicking off its fourth edition. The inaugural match will be played at the iconic DY Patil Stadium — a venue where the Women in Blue had clinched India’s maiden World Cup two months back.
Two of the title holders of the tournament, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Mumbai Indians (MI), will set the ball rolling. But ahead of the first clash, both the sides’ captains, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, have opened up on their respective ambitions for the WPL 2026.
The WPL 2024 winning skipper revealed that she has been working on her lap shot and the reverse sweep for the upcoming season of the league. Mandhana, who is known for breaching the field gaps with elegance, also aims to add some fireworks to her gameplay.
“There’s this one lap shot which I’m trying to keep playing. I hope I get better at it in the WPL. Reverse-sweep is still a game in progress. I’m trying to work on my power-hitting game quite a lot. Hopefully I can get in some power-hitting in the WPL [but by] not going away from timing the ball as well,” she stated.
The opener, who has three Women’s Big Bag Bash League (WBBL) wickets and a WODI scalp to her name, discussed her bowling prospects ahead of the WPL 2026. She also spoke about the domestic players’ opportunity to learn from England’s World Cup-winning pacer Anya Shrubsole. The Somerset player has joined RCB as their bowling coach for the season.
“I am really happy that a lot of Indian girls are going to get to work with her and pick her brain on how they can get better. My bowling, I don’t think that’s something anyone has told me. But if it comes from the top management, I have to start working on it,” added Smriti.
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The WPL 2026 will be Kaur’s first major assignment after leading India to its maiden ICC title. The most successful captain of the league emphasized how it has allowed her to express her natural style of play.
“As a batter I want to bat freely because this is the only platform where I don’t put a lot of pressure on me. This is something where I can execute myself however I want. It’s a very important tournament for me and I just want to contribute for my team as much as I can,” noted the MI skipper.
However, following tonight’s encounter in Navi Mumbai, the two teams will once again lock horns in the 16th league-stage fixture, scheduled to take place in Vadodara on January 26.
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