India’s seam-bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar has recovered from injury and rejoined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad for the rest of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 on Thursday.

Vastrakar has been away from competitive cricket since late 2024 due to a shoulder injury. She completed her recovery at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and was expected to join RCB before the start of the fourth WPL season. However, just two days before her release, she suffered a hamstring injury and had to spend more time at the CoE.

RCB welcomed her return with a message on X. “Starring in red ft. Pooja Vastrakar. Experience in her stride, strength in her run, pace in her hand, and power down the order. Back from injury and stronger than ever. 12th Man Army, welcome Pooja as she begins her next chapter in red, blue, and gold,” the 2024 champions wrote.

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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘀 ft. Pooja Vastrakar ❤️‍🔥

Experience in her stride, resilience in her run,
With pace in hand and power down the order, the job gets done. ⚡🏏

Back from injury, stronger than ever, proving the naysayers wrong! 👊

12th Man Army, welcome Pooja as she… pic.twitter.com/18LK6fFQal

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) January 22, 2026

When will Pooja Vastrakar return to action?

Earlier, IANS reported that Pooja Vastrakar reached Vadodara on Monday after getting clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE). She was expected to join the RCB squad after their match against the Gujarat Giants.

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Pooja Vastrakar’s career and WPL record

Vastrakar was bought by RCB for ₹85 lakh in the mega auction held in New Delhi last year. She was released by defending champions Mumbai Indians before the auction.

The all-rounder has played 72 T20Is for India. She has taken 58 wickets at an economy rate of 6.39, with best figures of 4 for 13. She has also scored 332 runs in the format. In the WPL, Pooja has featured in 16 matches for the Mumbai Indians, picking up seven wickets and scoring 126 runs.

Delhi Capitals Women will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women in Match 11 of WPL 2026 on January 17 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, marking the final league fixture at the venue. DC Women are currently placed fourth on the points table, having secured one win from three outings. Coming off a morale-boosting victory against UP Warriorz Women, they will be keen to carry that momentum forward and register their second win of the season to stay in contention.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women, meanwhile, have enjoyed a flawless start to their WPL 2026 campaign. Sitting comfortably at the top of the standings with three wins from three matches, RCB Women have impressed with all-round consistency. Their batters have delivered timely runs, the bowlers have been disciplined, and the fielding unit has backed them up superbly. Riding high on confidence, the Smriti Mandhana-led side will look to extend their unbeaten streak and reinforce their dominance in the tournament.

WPL 2026 Match 11, DC-W vs RCB-W: Live Streaming Details

WPL 2026 Match 11, DC-W vs RCB-W: Probable Playing XI

Delhi Capitals Women (DC W):

Lizelle Lee (WK), Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (C), Chinelle Henry, Marizanne Kapp, Sneh Rana, Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Nandni Sharma, Shree Charani

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCB W):

Grace Harris, Smriti Mandhana (C), Dayalan Hemalatha, Gautami Naik, Richa Ghosh (WK), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women will take on the UP Warriorz in Match No. 5 of the Women’s Premier League 2026 on Monday, January 12, at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. After a brief pause, both teams will be back in action to make their mark in the tournament.

RCB Women began their WPL 2026 journey in style by defeating defending champions Mumbai Indians Women in a thrilling season opener. Led by Smriti Mandhana, the 2024 champions showed great composure under pressure to seal a last-ball victory. Being third on the points table, RCBW would certainly look to carry on the winning streak with yet another impressive display.

UP Warriorz got off to a close but disappointing start in their campaign, falling 10 runs short against Gujarat Giants Women in their first outing. The captain, Meg Lanning, will take the positives out of this batting effort, which had promise in patches. However, UPW do need to be more disciplined in their bowling as they chase their first win of the season.

RCBW vs UPW: Head-to-Head Record

• Matches Played: 6
  
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women Won: 3
  
• UP Warriorz Won: 2
  
• Tied: 1
• No Result: 0

RCBW vs UPW: Weather & Pitch Report

The weather over Navi Mumbai is expected to be clear throughout the match. Though this is a coastal venue, humidity levels will be high, there is no rain forecast. The temperature is likely to remain between 21°C and 25°C, with a cool breeze in the evening making things quite pleasant for the players and spectators alike.

The pitch at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy has shown signs of slowing down as matches progress. So far, teams batting first have enjoyed more success at this venue. Because of this trend, captains winning the toss may prefer to bat first and put a challenging total on the board.

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RCBW vs UPW: Predicted Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCBW):

Smriti Mandhana (C), Grace Harris, Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (WK), Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Prema Rawat, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

UP Warriorz (UPW):

Meg Lanning (C), Kiran Navgire, Harleen Deol, Phoebe Litchfield, Shweta Sehrawat (WK), Deandra Dottin, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Asha Sobhana, Shikha Pandey, Kranti Goud

The Indian and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fast bowler, Pooja Vastrakar, will miss the first two weeks of the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) as she picked up a hamstring injury. The franchise has already started its campaign against the Mumbai Indians, where they beat the defending champions in a thrilling last-over finish.

Back in November, when the franchise signed Vastrakar for a price of INR 85 lakh, RCB’s head coach, Malolan Rangarajan, commented that the bowler would change a lot of things for the franchise as far as the combinations are concerned. She was injured at the time of the auction as the WPL was anticipated to mark her comeback, having played her last competitive game in the T20 World Cup 2024.

See Also: Watch: UP Warriorz’s Meg Lanning dances to Chikni Chameli ahead of WPL 2026

“I think two days before her release from the [BCCI's Centre of Excellence], she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring. The information we have at the moment is that she's going to need two more. It's a hamstring issue. She was there for her shoulder, and now it's a hamstring issue. So it's a week-by-week process. So let's see where she's at.” Rangarajan expressed at the post-match press conference.

RCB head coach gives update on Pooja Vastrakar

Vastrakar, who has picked up 58 wickets in 66 innings of the WT20Is at an average of 21.41 and an economy rate of 6.39 with a strike rate of 20.1, played his last competitive game in Sharjah against Australia during the T20 World Cup 2024.

“The value of all-rounders came to the fore. My blood pressure is okay. I've gotten used to this. I've been with RCB for six years. Very good to be on the winning side. Nadine was very clear with her plan for how she was going to approach the next 11 overs. That's the first time I met her inside [at the strategic time out] was over [number] nine.” Rangarajan noted on Nadine de Klerk’s knock.

The WPL 2024 champions will play their next encounter against the UP Warriorz on January 12 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

Nadine de Klerk's brilliant all-round performances helped RCB Women to claim a stunning final-ball victory against the defending champions Mumbai Indians Women, as the WPL 2026 started extraordinarily. 

RCB Women captain Smriti Mandhana chose to field first after winning the toss on Friday evening (January 9). While the defending champions scored 154/6 in 20 overs, RCB Women chased down the target on the final ball of the match after losing seven wickets.

Sajeevan Sajana and Nicola Carey rescued MI Women, while Nadine de Klerk got 4 wickets

In the first innings, while Lauren Bell bowled brilliantly in her initial spell, opener Amelia Kerr (4) and the no.3 batter Nat Sciver-Brunt (4) were dismissed cheaply. Meanwhile, the other opener Gunalan Kamalini (32) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (20) lost their wickets after getting starts. 

However, in the middle-order, Sajeevan Sajana and Nicola Carey had a great partnership that helped Mumbai Indians Women manage the 150+ total. While Sajeevan was dropped twice, she scored 45 off 25 balls with seven fours and one six. On the other hand, Nicola scored 40 off 29 balls with four fours. Sajeevan and Nicola had an 82-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

While Lauren Bell was impressive with her bowling figures of 4-1-14-1, Nadine de Klerk picked up four wickets with the bowling figures of 4-0-26-4. 

Watch: MI-W vs RCB-W final over chase that left fans stunned full video

Nadine de Klerk saved RCB Women

In reply, after a decent start with a 40-run opening partnership, RCB Women suddenly found themsleves at deep trouble with the score of 65/5. Nadine de Klerk and Arundhati Reddy had a crucial 52-run partnership for the sixth wicket, where Reddy scored 20 runs before losing her wicket, but Nadine continued to keep RCB Women alive in the game. 

In the final over, RCB Women needed 18 runs to win, while they added 11 runs in the previous over. Nat Sciver-Brunt was the bowler in that final over, where the first two balls were dots, and then Nadine slammed six, four, six, and four to snatch a dramatic win on the final ball of the match. After picking up four wickets, the Player of the Match Nadine de Klerk scored 63 not out off 44 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

Five out of six MI bowlers managed to pick up at least one wicket, while Amelia Kerr (2/13) and Nicola Carey (2/35) got two wickets each.

On January 9, the Women's Premier League 2026 will commence with its fourth season of elite Women’s T20 cricket played entirely in India and worldwide. This T20 League continues to develop as one of the main contributors to the worldwide development of women's cricket by continuing to attract global attention as well as the world's best female cricketers. The Women's Premier League 2026 will run from January 9 until February 5 and consist of 22 matches to be played in Navi Mumbai and Baroda, providing lots of exciting games of top-quality cricket for fans over the course of a month.

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The tournament kicks off with a match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished fourth in the 2025 season, and they will be looking to get off to a fast start. Delhi Capitals have finished second in every edition of the Women's Premier League, so they will be looking to finally win their first title. Additionally, the UP Warriorz and the Gujarat Giants will be looking to win their first-ever championship. The tournament will also feature two double-header matches, creating additional excitement for fans.

WPL 2026 live streaming and telecast, timings:

When will the WPL 2026 start?

WPL 2026 will begin on Friday, January 09.

How many matches will take place in the WPL 2026?

22 matches will be played throughout WPL 2026, including the Eliminator and Final game.

At what time will WPL 2026 matches begin?

All matches of the WPL 2026 will have a 7:30 PM IST start, while the afternoon games on double-headers will kick off at 3:30 PM IST. 

At what time will the match no 1 of WPL 2026 start?

The opening game will begin at 7:30 PM IST at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

At what time will the toss during WPL 2026 take place?

The toss will take place 30 minutes before the scheduled start of a match.

Which TV Channels will live telecast the WPL 2026 matches?

Indian fans will be able to watch the WPL 2026 on live TV on the Star Sports Network TV channels.

 How to watch live streaming of WPL 2026 matches in India?

The live streaming platform for the WPL 2026 is the JioHotstar app and website.

The spin all-rounder, Shreyanka Patil, who will feature for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCBW) in the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), has revealed the vital advice of Jasprit Bumrah, the premier pacer of the Indian men’s cricket team. Patil has overall picked up 20 wickets in 16 WT20I innings.

In terms of her performance in the WPL history, the 23-year-old has collected 19 wickets in 15 innings at an average of 18.36 and a strike rate of 12.90 with an economy rate of 8.51 at the best bowling figures of 4/12 in an innings. She addressed how missing the World Cup wasn’t a great feeling for her.

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“I thought it was just a one-off injury. I felt I'd be back in two or three months. I never imagined I wouldn't be on the field for more than a year. Once I started missing tournaments back-to-back, and then missing out on WPL, that was a big blow for me. Missing the World Cup hurt a lot. As a cricketer, you always want to lift that trophy.” Patil expressed in an interview.

Shreyanka Patil discusses Jasprit Bumrah’s valuable suggestion

Patil was recently part of the 2025 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for the Barbados Royals, where she picked up only one wicket in five innings at an average of 115 and a strike rate of 96 with an economy rate of just over seven.

“I had so many questions. About bowling under pressure, about practicing yorkers. Even though he's a fast bowler and I'm a spinner, I bowl at the death too. He told me, 'This is okay, everyone goes through it.' He said I'm facing it at a young age, so don't fight it. Just be in it. No words can describe how I felt.” The Karnataka spinner shed light.

“I was overthinking before that. 'What if I'm not retained, which team will I play for?' All those thoughts were there. After the call, I rang Arjun [Dev, her personal coach], sir, and just started crying. I didn't even know what I was feeling. It was just so much love and belief.” Patil claimed. 

The two stars of the Australian side, Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland, have pulled out of the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 season due to personal reasons, which dealt a significant blow to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Delhi Capitals, respectively.

Perry, who was set to be part of the RCB side, has been replaced by Sayali Satghare, while Sutherland, signed by the Capitals, has been replaced by Alana King ahead of the new edition. Satghare will join the franchise for a reserve price of INR 30 lakh. Meanwhile, King, who represented the UP Warriorz, has been roped in for INR 60 lakh. 

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The Australian leg spinner brings a massive experience to the Capitals’ line-up with 27 wickets in as many T20Is of the women’s game. Perry’s loss will be massive for the chances of the Bengaluru side, as the veteran all-rounder was the leading run-getter in 2024 when they clinched the title with 347 runs at 69.40 and picked up seven wickets in nine games.

Elysse Perry and Anabel Sutherland pull out of WPL 2026

Despite an injury-hit 2025 season of the league, Perry showed his consistency with 372 runs, including four half-centuries from eight games, as she was retained for INR 2 crore ahead of the season. It has been the same case for the Delhi side, who won’t have Sutherland in the campaign.

Anabel had a fine season with the ball in DC’s run to the final last year, claiming nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.57 while she was retained for a price of INR 2.2 crore. UP Warriorz have also made a change in the squad after the USA’s Tara Norris was selected for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal, which runs from January 18 to February 01.

Warriorz have signed uncapped all-rounder, Charli Knott, as the replacement of Norris at the reserved price of INR 10 lakh. The WPL 2026 begins in just over a week, with the Mumbai Indians (MI) locking horns with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Navi Mumbai on January 09.

The Women's team of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB-W) is all set to start their Women's Premier League 2026 (WPL 2026) campaign on January 9 through a match against the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. 

Ahead of the fresh season of WPL, RCB-W has set up their new-look squad strongly on paper with only four retained players.  Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, and Shreyanka Patil are the only four players from the previous season who will be seen playing for the franchise in the upcoming season as well. Under the leadership of Smriti Mandhana, the team will try to conquer the league again. This time, the franchise officials have bolstered their squad with multiple batters and all-rounders. 

The entire tournament will unfold across two venues: Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. The first eleven matches of the contest are scheduled to be arranged at the iconic D.Y. Patil Stadium, where the India Women's team recently won their maiden World Cup title. For the next eleven matches, focus will be shifted on Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium. 

Read More: Gujarat Giants Women (GG-W) WPL 2026 full schedule, venues, timings announced

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Full Schedule

RCB-W full squad for WPL 2026:

Players Retained: Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, and Shreyanka Patil.

New Players: Lauren Bell, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Voll, Linsey Smith, Dayalan Hemalatha, Prema Rawat, Gautami Nayak, and Prathyoosha Kumar.

Each of the five squads has been finalised after the mega auction for the WPL 2026, which Delhi hosted on Thursday (November 27). It was the great bidding wars between five franchises to set up their respective squads for the fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League. 

At the end of the mega auction for the WPL 20226, the complete squad for each team are as follows. 

WPL Update: Injured Pratika Rawal & Yastika Bhatia Cleared for Auction, But Franchises Can’t Add or Replace Them

WPL 2026: Mumbai Indians (MI) Complete Squad

Retained

Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini

Auction buys

Amelia Kerr (INR 3.00 crore), Shabnim Ismail (INR 60 lakhs), Sanskriti Gupta (INR 20 lakhs), Sajana Sajeevan (INR 75 lakhs), Rahila Firdous (INR 10 lakhs), Nicola Carey (INR 30 lakhs), Poonam Khemnar (INR 10 lakhs), Triveni Vasistha (INR 20 lakhs), Nalla Reddy (INR 10 lakhs), Saika Ishaque (INR 30 lakhs), Milly Illingworth (INR 10 lakhs)

WPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Complete Squad

Retained

Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Shreyanka Patil 

Auction buys

Georgia Voll (INR 60 lakhs), Nadine de Klerk (INR 65 lakhs), Radha Yadav (INR 65 lakhs), Lauren Bell (INR 90 lakhs), Linsey Smith (INR 30 lakhs), Arundhati Reddy (INR 75 lakhs), Pooja Vastrakar (INR 85 lakhs), Grace Harris (INR 75 lakhs), Gautami Naik (INR 10 lakhs), Prathyoosha Kumari (INR 10 lakhs), D. Hemalatha (INR 30 lakhs)

RTM: Prema Rawat (INR 20 lakhs)

WPL 2026: Delhi Capitals (DC) Complete Squad

Retained

Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad

Auction buys

Laura Wolvaardt (INR 1.10 crore), Chinelle Henry (INR 1.30 crore), Shree Charani (INR 1.30 crore), Sneh Rana (INR 50 lakhs), Lizelle Lee (INR 30 lakhs), Deeya Yadav (INR 10 lakhs), Taniya Bhatia (INR 30 lakhs), Mamatha Madiwala (INR 10 lakhs), Nandini Sharma (INR 20 lakhs), Lucy Hamilton (INR 10 lakhs), Minnu Mani (INR 40 lakhs)

WPL 2026: UP Warriors (UPW) Complete Squad

Retained

Shweta Sehrawat 

Auction buys

Meg Lanning (INR 1.90 crore), Phoebe Litchfield (INR 1.20 crore), Harleen Deol (INR 50 lakhs), Asha Sobhana (INR 1.10 crore), Deandra Dottin (INR 80 lakh), Shikha Pandey (INR 2.40 crore), Shipra Giri (INR 10 lakhs), Simran Shaikh (INR 10 lakhs), Tara Norris (INR 10 lakhs), Chloe Tryon (INR 30 lakhs), Suman Meena (INR 10 lakhs), G. Trisha (INR 10 lakhs), Pratika Rawal (INR 50 lakhs)

RTM: Deepti Sharma (INR 3.2 lakhs), Sophie Ecclestone (INR 85 lakhs), Kiran Navgire (INR 60 lakhs), Kranti Goud (INR 50 lakhs)

WPL 2026: Gujarat Giants (GG) Complete Squad

Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney

Auction buys

Sophie Devine (INR 2.00 crore), Renuka Singh Thakur (INR 60 lakhs), Titas Sadhu (INR 30 lakhs), Kanika Ahuja (INR 30 lakhs), Tanuja Kanwer (INR 45 lakhs), Georgia Wareham (INR 1.00 crore), Anushka Sharma (INR 45 lakhs), Happy Kumari (INR 10 lakhs), Kim Garth (INR 50 lakhs), Yastika Bhatia (INR 50 lakhs), Shivani Singh (INR 10 lakhs), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (INR 50 lakhs), Rajeshwari Gaykwad (INR 40 lakhs), Ayushi Soni (INR 30 lakhs)

RTM: Bharti Fulmali (INR 70 lakhs), Kashvee Gautam (INR 65 lakhs)