The fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) starts on January 9, 2026. All teams have set their eyes on the bigger prize.
Although the main focus will be on the trophy, everyone’s attention will also remain on the players. The WPL 2026 season has some top-class players on its roster.
Among them, here are the five players you can watch out for in WPL 2026.
Smriti Mandhana
All eyes will be on Smriti Mandhana, the batter as well as the captain. As a batter, she has been in the purple patch of her career.
Mandhana, in fact, comes to WPL 2026 on the back of scoring 1703 runs across formats in 2025. So she would like to extend her impressive run in WPL 2026 as well.
As a captain, Mandhana has a lot at stake. She would be eager to take RCB into the playoffs after a pretty average season last year.
So Mandhana’s runs with the bat and her clever decisions on the field will shape Bengaluru’s campaign at large.
Laura Wolvaardt
Like Mandhana, Laura Wolvaardt had a wonderful outing in 2025 across all formats. She scored 1364 runs in 26 innings for South Africa.
Now, Wolvaardt joins a new setup this WPL season. She will play for Delhi Capitals (DC) after the last two average seasons for Gujarat Giants (GG).
The South African will likely get a longer rope, given DC won’t have the services of Meg Lanning this time. While Wolvaardt has big shoes to fill in, she is likely to open alongside Shafali Varma and provide solid starts with her reliable knocks.
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Nat Sciver-Brunt
Nat Sciver-Brunt has been the most valuable player in WPL’s short history. She is the top run-getter, with 1027 runs in 29 innings, while also being among the top wicket-takers, with 32 wickets to show.
And that was the main reason behind Mumbai Indians (MI) retaining her for INR 3.50 crore. Plus, she has delivered for them in crucial moments in the past three seasons.
And Nat is likely to continue the momentum in the fourth season. So, expect another all-round performance from her.
Shafali Verma
Shafali Verma has been in good touch of late. She hammered three consecutive fifties in the year-end series against Sri Lanka in 2025.
What stands out is her strike rate. All three of her fifties came at a strike rate above 170.
This explosiveness of her will be in focus once again. Notably, she has struck above 160 while scoring 865 runs for DC in the last three seasons. And expect her to give DC the quick starts in the powerplay this season.
Lizelle Lee
The Capitals have another hard-hitting batter in their arsenal. And she is the former South African batter Lizelle Lee.
Lee arrives in India for her first-ever WPL season. Although her experience of playing in India is limited, Lee walks in with stellar form.
Lee scored 305 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 154.82 while playing a crucial role in Hobart Hurricanes’ victorious WBBL 2025 campaign. And guess what? Her strike rate of 154.82 was the best by a batter who played at least 100 balls in WBBL 2025.
So, expect Lee to replicate her form in WPL 2026, slotting in the middle for the Capitals.
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