Top five players who could shine in Women’s T20 World Cup 2026

T20 fever returns, but to the women’s game as the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup kicks off in England and Wales on June 12, with England playing Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in the opening game.

The festival of T20 cricket returns for another edition, with the anticipated thrilling encounters and brilliant players putting up stellar performances on display. All teams have players who can take the game away from the opposition with both bat and ball. These players can be game-changers and have excelled in past tournaments or are up-and-coming stars with massive potential, looking for a platform to shine. 

Here are five players who could shine in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:

5) Lauren Bell – England

In an England team filled with an unusually high number of spin options, Lauren Bell stands out as the attack leader, taking the new ball and bowling in the death. And now with skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt almost set to play the tournament as a batter, Bell’s role with the ball becomes much more prominent. After an action remodelling saw her bowl with a more upright frame, Bell has become one of England’s main strike bowlers.

Being able to generate movement both ways, in the air and off the wicket, Bell is a key strike bowler in the powerplay. She has also improved her death bowling, as visible in the series against India, where she picked up seven wickets in three games. She has 60 wickets in 41 T20I matches, a testament to her credentials as a strike bowler.

4) Shafali Verma – India

Shafali Verma has once again established herself as a mainstay in India’s T20 side, as the team’s designated opener. She has formed a brilliant partnership with mercurial southpaw Smriti Mandhana, but was unable to manage significant returns in the recently concluded series against England. She has scored 2722 runs in 106 T20I matches, at a blistering strike rate of 135.49.

Shafali is a T20I maverick, capable of scoring runs at a blistering strike rate. She is at her best during her attacking batting, being able to take bowlers on in all phases of the innings. Coming off a Player of the Match performance in India’s win in the ODI World Cup final in 2025, Shafali will be expected to produce similar clutch performances in this series, adding momentum from the top.

3) Laura Wolvaardt – South Africa

The leading run-scorer in the last three ICC Women’s tournaments, luck has not been on the side of South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt. Despite blistering seasons, Wolvaardt and South Africa have been on the other side of finals in the 2023 T20 World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 ODI World Cup. She would be hoping to carry her bat into performances and finally lead South Africa to their elusive ICC title.

Wolvaardt is an elegant strokemaker who possesses the appetite to score big. She has scored 2764 runs in 92 innings at a strike rate of 121.97. With 230 and 223 runs respectively, she was the top run-scorer in the last two T20 World Cups and will be looking to convert stellar performances this time into a title triumph.

2) Phoebe Litchfield – Australia

The prodigious Phoebe Litchfield is one of the most exciting names in women’s cricket. An established batter in the Australian side, the 23-year-old has taken the world by storm with her awareness, intent and hockey-wristed sweeps, reverse-sweeps and switch-hits, allowing her to score in all parts of the ground. With the retirement of Alyssa Healy, Litchfield’s role in the team becomes even more prominent as one of the team’s main batters.

She was unable to make a significant mark in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but she was one of the top run-scorers in the 2025 ODI World Cup. Litchfield has scored 554 runs in 28 innings in T20s, striking at a brilliant 138.50, boosting her credentials as a modern-day T20 batter.

1) Melie Kerr – New Zealand

Player of the Tournament in the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024, Melie Kerr enters not just with the backing of the performances, but as the skipper of the defending champions. Kerr was also the Player of the Match in the final, scoring 43 with the bat and picking up figures of 3 for 24 with the ball as New Zealand won by 32 runs against a dominant South Africa side. She also finished the tournament with 15 wickets, the most in the tournament.

The talismanic Kerr has been even more dominant with the bat in 2026, scoring 472 runs in 10 innings at a whopping strike rate of 158.38, including two centuries. With the careers of the legendary pair of Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates reaching their swansong, Kerr has stepped up brilliantly, ensuring that they have a reliable presence with both bat and ball.