Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: One batter to watch for from each team

Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: One batter to watch for from each team (Source: BCCI)

In a game of fine margins like T20, batters who can take the game away from their opposition are worth their weight in gold. With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 now expanded to 12 teams, there are even more opportunities for big hitters to make a big impact.

Here are 12 batters to keep an eye on at Women’s T20 WC 2026:

Australia – Georgia Voll

Georgia Voll is the next cab off the Australian rank and is set to make her T20 World Cup debut in England and Wales.

The 22-year-old already boasts centuries in both white-ball formats of the game, with her score of 101 against the West Indies earlier this year the highest score made by an Australian batter since the last edition of the World Cup.

As well as big scores, Voll scores quickly. She has a T20I strike rate of 156.43 and is currently top of the women’s T20I batting rankings.

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Bangladesh – Sobhana Mostary

Sobhana Mostary has been Bangladesh’s most consistent performer with the bat in recent years.

She was their highest run scorer at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, making 134 runs at an average of 33.50.

Since that tournament, she has crunched 413 runs across 15 innings, including hitting 15 sixes, eight more than any other Bangladesh player.

Sobhana was named Player of the Tournament at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier at the start of 2026, scoring 262 runs at 52.40.

England – Heather Knight

Heather Knight has entered a new stage in her career, with the T20 World Cup in 2024 the last tournament she skippered England in.

Injury has hampered her since stepping down as captain, but she showed her class with a century against India at last year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

The 35-year-old’s experience will be invaluable as one of only three players in the hosts’ 2026 squad to have been part of England’s last World Cup victory in 2017.

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India – Shafali Verma

A player reborn at just 22, Shafali Verma has hit the heights many knew she was destined for.

After making her debut at 15, Verma became a consistent part of India’s team before spending time away from the national set-up.

Parachuted in for the knockout stages of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on home soil, the opener was named Player of the Match in the final as her 87 helped India lift the trophy for the first time.

Ireland – Gaby Lewis

No player at this year’s World Cup has scored more runs since the previous edition finished than Ireland’s Gaby Lewis.

Across 21 innings, Lewis has scored 825 runs at an average of 43.42. She is comfortably her nation’s leading run-scorer in the format, having been the first Irish woman to pass both 2,000 and 3,000 T20I runs, and top-scored at the 2026 qualifier with 276 in seven innings.

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The Netherlands – Sterre Kalis

A player deserving of a place on the big stage, Sterre Kalis top-scored for the Netherlands in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifier to earn her country a debut appearance at the tournament proper.

She is also her country’s leading run-scorer in the format, with 1,893 T20I runs, while she is well used to playing in England, having represented various county and regional teams since 2016. Currently with Yorkshire, Kalis will feel at home when her side takes on India at Headingley on 17 June.

New Zealand – Suzie Bates

Make the most of watching Suzie Bates in the coming weeks, as it is the last chance to do so on the international stage.

Bates and her longstanding teammate Sophie Devine will both retire after the 2026 World Cup, and Bates will do so as the leading run-maker in T20I internationals, having made 4,717 runs across a 19-year career.

A World Cup winner in 2024, Bates will hope to deliver a performance for the ages in her swansong.

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Pakistan – Ayesha Zafar

Ayesha Zafar is making up for lost time in the international set-up.

The 31-year-old made her T20I debut back in 2015, before spending three years out of the side.

Her return in 2024 showed signs of potential, and she has gone from strength to strength, crunching her first international ton with 102 not out against Zimbabwe earlier this year, the joint-highest score ever made by a Pakistan women’s player.

Scotland – Darcey Carter

Darcey Carter’s crucial 52 against the USA sealed Scotland’s place at their second consecutive ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Her side needed a win to confirm their place, and she delivered her best performance of the qualifier to set up the victory.

At just 20 years of age and within three years of her international debut, Carter is already third on Scotland’s all-time list of women’s T20I run scorers.

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South Africa – Laura Wolvaardt

Laura Wolvaardt enters this competition in flying form, having picked up April’s ICC Women’s Player of the Month award – her third in seven months.

She scored 330 runs in five innings in a recent T20I series against India, recording one century and three fifties, striking at 168.35 along the way.

A player for the big occasion, Wolvaardt made it to three figures in both the semi-final and final at last year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and will be crucial in setting the tone for the Proteas.

Sri Lanka – Hasini Perera

After featuring only twice at the last ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Hasini Perera has become a pivotal part of Sri Lanka’s batting line-up.

Having been moved to the top of the order in December of last year, Perera found consistency and recorded a career-high of 65 against India. She has become a valuable partner to Sri Lanka’s captain fantastic Chamari Athapaththu.

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West Indies – Hayley Matthews

Hayley Matthews is arguably the player who can make the biggest difference for her team.

The West Indies skipper can do it all and has made 2,710 runs during her T20I career, winning the tournament in 2016, where she top scored with 66 in the final and picked up the Player of the Match award.

Since the last World Cup, she has made her third T20I century, blasting an unbeaten 100 from 67 balls against England in May 2025.

Disclaimer: This latest news is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.