Major boost for RCB ahead of WPL 2026 playoffs as star all-rounder joins squad

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have received a significant boost ahead of the Women's Premier League 2026 (WPL) playoffs. All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar has joined the squad in Vadodara and is likely to feature in her first match of the season soon. After being signed for a fee of INR 85 lakh at the WPL auction, Vastrakar was on course to feature for RCB from the beginning of the season, but a hamstring tweak forced her to miss the early matches.

The 26-year-old had been on the sidelines since October, 2024 due to a serious shoulder injury that saw her spend a lot of time at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE). She had almost regained full fitness ahead of WPL 2026, but the hamstring issue led her to miss more games.

Vastrakar strengthens RCB's squad massively

Vastrakar has now fully recovered from the injury and will provide RCB not just with a solid bowling option, but also an option in the lower-order with the bat. She can turn out to play an important role for the team in the playoffs. RCB have been dominant in the league stage and have become the first team to qualify for the playoffs.

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The Bengaluru-based franchise recently defeated the Gujarat Giants comprehensively by 61 runs to ensure that they qualified for the playoffs. It was a brilliant all-round performance from the team as they first posted 178/6 in 20 overs riding on Gautami Naik's knock of 73. In reply, they restricted the Giants down to 117/8 in 20 overs with Sayali Satghare being the star of the show and recording figures of 3/21.

RCB on 100% win record

RCB have won all of the five games that they have played so far in WPL 2026 and stand at the top of the standings with 10 points. Their next fixture will be against the Delhi Capitals on January 24 before they take on Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz on January 26 and 29 respectively. Smriti Mandhana & Co. look set to finish in the top two on the points table, but it remains to be seen if they will eventually pull it off.