The 2026 Women’s Asia Cup, the biennial T20 continental championship, begins August 28 at Dubai International Stadium, with eight teams — including tournament debutants Indonesia — competing for the trophy.
India, the most successful team in the competition’s history with seven of the previous nine titles, will look to reclaim the crown after losing the 2024 final to Sri Lanka, the current defending champions. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur leads a 15-player Indian squad featuring Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, though star batter Jemimah Rodrigues was ruled out after suffering a high-grade hamstring tear during the ongoing Hundred tournament in England, with Pratika Rawal named as her replacement.
India opens its campaign against Thailand on August 30 before facing Hong Kong China on September 3, with the much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan scheduled for September 5. The eight teams are split into two groups — India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Hong Kong China in Group A, and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, hosts UAE, and Indonesia in Group B — with the top two from each group advancing to semifinals on September 10 and 11 ahead of the September 13 final. The tournament arrives amid a busy August cricket calendar that also includes India’s ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka as part of the World Test Championship cycle.
