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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup scheduled in England and Wales from June 12. Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, experienced names like Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Richa Ghosh have made it to the squad. Among these seasoned players, a fresh name has also been included in the squad.
The player in question is Nandani Sharma, who is set to make his international debut—and that too on the grand stage of a World Cup.
Now the question emerges: Who is Nandani, and how did she find her way into the World Cup squad? Read on to know about her.
Who is Nandani Sharma?
Sharma is a 24-year-old cricketer born on September 20, 2001, in Chandigarh. She is a right-arm fast medium bowler who has represented Chandigarh in domestic cricket and Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League so far.
Sharma especially became a sensation during the last season, where she played 10 games for DC and took 17 wickets at an average of 18.59 with a strike rate of 13.41, while 8.32 was her economy.
She became an overnight sensation when she took a WPL hat-trick against the Gujarat Giants in just her second game. She first stopped Sophie Devine from a century and then went on to take Kashvee Gautam, and then in the same over, she dismissed Kanika Ahuja, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Renuka to complete the hat-trick.
She took five wickets in that game and became just the fourth woman in WPL history to take a hat-trick, joining Issy Wong (2023), Deepti Sharma (2024), and Grace Harris (2025). With her performance of 5 for 33, she also became the first Indian fast bowler to take a fifer.
Having already featured in a high-intensity tournament like the Women's Premier League (WPL), expectations from Sharma will be understandably high among fans.
India Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharati Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Goud, Sreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav
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