The ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 edition will give India a chance to put their recent struggles behind them when they face Thailand in their Group A opener later today.
On paper, India have been the dominant side in the competition. They have won three of the five T20 editions since 2016-17. But their recent record does not offer the same level of confidence. India have lost nine of their 16 T20Is in 2026 and were knocked out of the Women’s T20 World Cup in the group stage after losing to Australia.
That defeat was another reminder of India’s problems against the better teams. Harmanpreet Kaur produced an important performance in that match, but the captain’s inconsistent returns throughout the tournament remained a concern.
The Asia Cup comes at an important time for Harmanpreet and the Indian team. With the Asian Games also coming up next month, India have two major Asian competitions ahead of them and will be expected to compete for the title in both.
India have been hit by the absence of Jemimah Rodrigues, who is unavailable for the Asia Cup and Asian Games. Pratika Rawal has been brought into the squad, but India will still need someone to take charge in the middle order. The team cannot afford to rely heavily on its openers throughout the tournament.
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma will again be expected to give India quick starts. Both have the ability to take the game away from an opposition in the powerplay. The challenge will be for the batters coming in after them to maintain the scoring rate and avoid the middle-order slowdown that has hurt India at times.
There is also work to do in the field. Dropped catches and poor work close to the boundary were costly in India’s previous T20 campaign. Against Thailand, India will want to be sharper in all three areas.
The bowling attack has plenty of experience. Deepti Sharma will be one of the main figures with the ball and will lead the spin options alongside Shree Charani, Radha Yadav and Prema Rawat. Renuka Singh Thakur remains the senior fast bowler, with Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy and Nandani Sharma offering support.
Thailand will not be short of confidence after beginning their campaign with a narrow win over Hong Kong. They scored 120 for nine, a total that looked modest, but their bowling and fielding kept Hong Kong to 114 for seven.
Naruemol Chaiwai played the key innings with 43, while Onnicha Kamchomphu returned figures of 3/27. Phannita Maya also made an impact with two wickets for 22 runs.
India Vs Thailand, ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2026: Predicted XIs
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Richa Ghosh (WK), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud.
Thailand Women: Naruemol Chaiwai (C), Nannapat Koncharoenkai (WK), Chanida Sutthiruang, Naomi Hamilton, Onnicha Kamchomphu, Thipatcha Putthawong, Phannita Maya, Nannaphat Chaihan, Suleeporn Laomi, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, Sunida Chaturongrattana.