6 Legends who could play their last Women’s T20 World Cup match in 2026

The upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 will begin on June 12, where England face Sri Lanka in the curtain raiser at Edgbaston in Birmingham. As the event approaches, the fans across the globe are preparing for more than just a battle for the trophy. 

For several of the game’s most celebrated names over the years, due to their successful performance with the bat and ball in hand, the competition will mark the final chapter of remarkable international careers that have inspired a generation of cricketers.  

Several experienced stars are expected to take the field one last time on the global stage. For India, their captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, could come in the list, having played all the previous nine editions of the competition before 2026.

There are four players, Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Megan Schutt, and Lea Tahuhu, who have already declared their retirement from the game after the end of the T20 World Cup 2026, whose final is scheduled to take place on July 5 at Lord’s. 

Overall, out of the nine seasons of the tournament, Australia sit at the top with six titles, including two hat-tricks of trophies in 2010, 2012, 2014, and then 2018, 2020, and 2023. The remaining three titles have been divided to England (2009), the West Indies (2016), and New Zealand (2024), who begin this 2026 season as the defending champions.

Top 6 players who could quit after Women's T20 World Cup 2026

Here is the list of the top six players who could quit the game after the end of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England. Their teams will feel the void if that happens, but they will also get enough time to fill the places with new players in the squad before 2028-

#1 Ellyse Perry (Australia)- 503 runs & 40 wickets in WT20 World Cup history

The veteran pace bowling all-rounder of the Australian side, Ellyse Perry, has been part of the Women’s T20 World Cup from the very first season in 2009. She is a fine performer for the side in her all-round show with both bat and ball in hand. 

Perry’s best season of the T20 World Cup came in 2010 when she collected only eight wickets in five innings at an economy rate of 5.21/ The Australia player was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award in the final against New Zealand for bowling the final over under pressure.

See Also: Top 5 fastest fifties in Women's T20 World Cup history — Can anyone beat these records in 2026?

The star player, who will cross 37 by the start of the next T20 World Cup, could put the curtains down in 2026, having smashed 503 runs in 30 innings of the T20 World Cup at a strike rate of 113.80 and bagged 40 wickets at an economy rate of 5.79. If she retires, then it will be a massive blow for Australia, who already lack lots of experience in the current squad after the retirement of Alyssa Healy. 

#2 Harmanpreet Kaur (India)- 726 runs in 33 innings of Women’s T20 WC history

During the captain’s press conference just before the warm-up clashes of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, was asked the question of whether it would be her last T20 World Cup 2026. It was a sensible question given her form and age, towards the 40s. She will be 39 by the next T20 World Cup, which takes a lot of mental and physical toll on any athlete’s body. 

One of the most veteran players of Indian cricket, Harmanpreet, has featured in all the editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup from 2009 and will feature in the 2026 season of the competition. 

The right-handed batter’s best campaign was in 2018 when she finished as the blue brigade’s leading run-getter with 183 runs in five innings at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate of 160.52, thanks to one century. Her knock of 103 runs came against New Zealand.

See Also: India Women's T20 World Cup 2026 preview: Strengths, weaknesses & predicted finish — Full analysis

The Punjab-born is, overall, the tenth leading run-getter of the competition before the 2026 season, bagging 726 runs in 33 innings at an average of 25.03 and a good strike rate of 112.72, with four fifties and one century.

#3 Sophie Devine (New Zealand)- 785 runs & 29 wickets in WT20 World Cup history

The veteran all-rounder of the New Zealand side, Sophie Devine, will be part of the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June-July. She confirmed that the 2026 season would be her last in the event’s history.

The star batter finds herself in the fifth position among the top run-getters in the Women’s T20 World Cup, collecting 785 runs in 38 innings at a strike rate of 111.82 with the help of four half-centuries at the best score of 75 runs. She has smashed 19 sixes in the event, which is the joint second most in history, only after Deandra Dottin’s 31 sixes over boundaries.

See Also: New Zealand Women's T20 World Cup 2026 preview: Can experienced stars defend their crown?

The right-handed batter is the fifth-highest run-getter in the shortest format of the game in women’s cricket. She has slammed 3719 runs in 150 innings at an average of 28.82 and a decent strike rate of 122.53, thanks to 24 half-centuries and one century at the best score of 105 runs.

With the ball, she has picked up 29 wickets in the World Cup history in 28 innings. She averages only 17.1 with the ball, having a clinical strike rate of 16.60 and a fine economy rate of 6.15.

#4 Suzie Bates (New Zealand)- 1216 runs in 42 innings of WT20 World Cup history

Even from the maiden season of the Women’s T20 World Cup, New Zealand’s opener, Suzie Bates, has been a consistent performer. Her best season of the campaign with the bat came in 2018 when he ended the competition as the fourth leading run-getter. The right-handed batter clubbed 161 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 120, with one fifty at the best score of 67 runs. 

She has already announced her retirement from international cricket after the T20 World Cup, having been at the top of the run-scorers with 1216 runs in 42 innings at an average of 31.17, thanks to eight half-centuries at the best score of 94* runs.

See Also: Most Runs in Women's T20 World Cup History — All-Time Top 10 Batters Updated 2026

“When I look back on the past 20-plus years, I can't quite believe how quickly the time has gone. I'm immensely proud to have worn the fern so many times, and I've been filled with enormous purpose and joy in striving each day to be a better person, team-mate, cricketer, and athlete for this team.” Bates expressed.

#5 Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand)- 21 wickets in 22 innings of WT20 World Cup history

Along with Bates and Devine, the lanky pacer of the New Zealand side, Lea Tahuhu, has also announced his retirement from international cricket after the end of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. 

Heading into the 2026 edition, she is the fourth leading wicket-taker for the White Ferns in the competition’s history with 21 wickets in 22 innings at an average of under 20 and a fine strike rate of 18.80 and a strong economy rate of 6.34, thanks to the best bowling figures of 3/15 in an innings.

The pacer, who will be 37 by the end of the next year’s T20 World Cup in 2028, is one short of recording 100 wickets in Women’s T20Is in 101 innings at an economy rate of 6.41.

During the previous T20 World Cup in 2024, when they won the title, Tahuhu experienced her best campaign with five wickets in six innings at an economy rate of 7.12 and a fine strike rate of below 20.

#6 Megan Schutt (Australia)- 48 wickets in Women’s T20 World Cup history

Australia’s Megan Schutt is the most successful bowler of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup as the Adelaide-born has picked up 48 scalps to be at the top in 29 innings at an average of 11.72 and a strike rate of 12.43, besides an impressive economy rate of 5.65.

It was the last chance for the pacer in the T20 World Cup, where her best campaign came in 2020 at home when she registered 13 wickets in just six innings at a strike rate of below 10 and a strong economy rate of 6.33.

See Also: Most Wickets in Women's T20 World Cup History — All-Time Top Bowlers List Updated 2026

“I'm competitive in everything I do - which is a good and a bad thing - the last two have stung and, after being part of a lot of success, it stings even more. But then you think of the kids that haven't won a World Cup; it's a good reminder I've been lucky and want to restart that with the next generation.” The right-arm pacer expressed.

Apart from these six players, Pakistan’s Nida Dar, England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge, West Indies Deandra Dottin and Stefaine Taylor, South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp, could also take the same route of retiring from international cricket after the end of this T20 World Cup 2026.