WPL 2026 watchlist: Top five young women players set to make an impact with breakout performances in the upcoming season.
Women’s Premier League 2026 promises plenty of excitement after India’s triumph in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at home. Expect packed houses, lots of noise, and fan frenzy once the tournament kicks off on January 9. Ahead of the season, here’s a look at the top five young players to watch out for in WPL 2026.
Shree Charani
The left-arm spinner from Andhra, Shree Charani, 21, has been in excellent form of late. She was part of India’s title-winning squad at the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, where she finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets at an average of 27.64 in nine matches. She also emerged as the joint highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded home T20I series against Sri Lanka, picking up five wickets as India sealed a 5–0 clean sweep.
Charani featured for Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League last season, where she played just two matches and claimed four wickets. However, given her recent performances, she is expected to play a bigger role for Delhi in the upcoming WPL season.
Read More: Who is Shree Charani, India Women’s young left-arm spinner?
Gunalan Kamalini
Gunalan Kamalini, the wicketkeeper-batter from Tamil Nadu, recently made her international debut in a T20I against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram. The 17-year-old managed just 12 runs in that outing. In the previous WPL season, she was bought by Mumbai for ₹1.6 crore and had modest returns, aggregating 32 runs in nine matches. However, Kamalini has been retained by the franchise, given the promise she shows with her clean hitting.
She boasts an impressive record at the U-19 level and appears ready for a breakthrough on the big stage. Kamalini was the second-highest run-getter with 311 runs in eight matches during the 2023 Under-19 Women’s T20 National Championship, which her team went on to win. She also finished as the third-highest run-scorer with 143 runs in seven games in India’s victorious Under-19 Women’s World Cup last year, and topped the charts for Tamil Nadu in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy with 297 runs at a strike rate of 110.
Read More: Who is Vaishnavi Sharma, India Women’s new recruit in T20Is?
Deeya Yadav
Deeya Yadav, 16, from Haryana, earned her maiden WPL contract after being picked up by Delhi Capitals for ₹10 lakh. Known for her power-hitting and strong hand-eye coordination, she will bat alongside her idol Shafali Verma for Delhi in the upcoming WPL season.
Deeya has been in top form during the 2025–26 season. She scored 298 runs at a strike rate of 128 in eight innings for Haryana in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. She raised her game further in the 2025 Senior Women’s Inter Zonal T20 Trophy, scoring 151 runs at a strike rate close to 150 in five innings. She also finished as the highest run-getter for Haryana with 255 runs at a strike rate of 139 during the team’s title-winning campaign in the Women’s Under-23 T20 Trophy Elite.
Read More: Major buys & omissions at WPL 2026 Auction: How the teams stack up
Niki Prasad     Â
Niki Prasad, 20, from Karnataka, has been on a roll since last year. She led India Under-19 to World Cup glory and featured for Delhi Capitals in the WPL last season, where she played a match-winning cameo of 35 off 33 balls to seal a last-ball win against Mumbai Indians. She scored 78 runs in eight matches during the season.
Niki is coming off an impressive Women’s Under-23 T20 Trophy (Elite), finishing as the fifth-highest run-getter with 246 runs at an average of 61.50 and a strike rate of 94.61 in eight matches. The all-rounder is expected to play a key role for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming WPL season with her all-round abilities.
Read More: Kranti Goud, the Madhya Pradesh Express who is now India’s lead pacer along with Renuka Thakur
Shweta Sehrawat
Delhi all-rounder Shweta Sehrawat has been with UP Warriorz since the inaugural WPL season in 2023. Shweta, 21, has played 23 matches in the league, scoring 261 runs at an average of 13.73 and a strike rate of 103.98. She was the only player retained by UP Warriorz ahead of the 2026 WPL auction. Overall, she has scored 1,367 runs at an average of 21.4 and a strike rate of 117, with four fifties in 69 T20s.
UP Warriorz have shown immense faith in Shweta, whose recent performances underline her potential. She registered the best strike rate (157.89) among the top ten run-getters in the recently concluded Women’s Under-23 T20 Trophy (Elite), where she finished as the eighth-highest run-scorer with 210 runs in eight matches.
Read More: Takeaways for India Women from T20I series against Sri Lanka Women
