The long-awaited Women’s Premier League of 2026 will start on January 9 with the matchup of the titleholders Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the first game of the series. The WPL 2026 will be, as in the past years, a gateway for the local players to showcase their talent and get recognized in the global arena.
Despite the lack of media coverage at times, here are four domestic players that could turn the tables in the tournament and make a great impact in the WPL 2026, showing they are ready for the great challenge.
Niki Prasad (Delhi Capitals)
The 20-year-old Niki Prasad who is an off-spinner and all-rounder led the Indian team to win the U19 World Cup 2025. Last season she got off to a flying start by winning the Player of the Match award in her debut for scoring 35 runs off 30 balls against MI. Niki played eight matches in WPL, scored 78 runs with an average of 39 and has taken five catches.
Playing under the new captain Jemimah Rodrigues at the Delhi Capitals, Niki Prasad is expected to deliver a strong performance in WPL 2026 by his contributions in the lower-middle-order and his bowling.
Kiran Navgire (UP Warriorz)
Kiran Navgire caught the spotlight with a sensational, unbeaten 162-run knockout off 76 balls in a domestic T20 match for Nagaland against Arunachal Pradesh in 2022. The record-breaking performance brought her into WPL squads but she could not live up to the hype. Kiran Navgire has displayed her hitting power but they have not been able to do it consistently. The right-handed batter has scored 419 runs in 25 WPL matches at a strike rate of over 140 including three half-centuries but she averages only 17.45.
Gongadi Trisha (UP Warriorz)
Gongadi Trisha, who has just turned 20 and hails from Telangana, was selected by UP Warriorz for INR 10 lakh after going unsold at the auction. She gives the team the ability to mix the right-handed batting with leg-spin bowling. It was not until the recent Women’s U19 T20 World Cup that Trisha really made her name known, when she became the tournament’s top scorer. Over the course of the competition, she scored 309 runs at an average of 77.25 and a strike rate of 147.14, including one hundred. Besides that, she also took four wickets at an economy rate of 5.82 in the recent domestic T20 matches.
Partnership with Navgire and Lanning at UP Warriorz in WPL 2026, the talismanic Trisha could be the one to energize the run factory and rake in vital wickets.
Bharti Fulmali (Gujarat Giants)
The very first step into the spotlight for Bharti Fulmali was in 2024, when she stepped in for an injured Harleen Deol. Officially being part of only three games, Bharti nevertheless managed to output her talents with a total of 64 points averaging 32 and a strike rate of 120.75. The Gujarat Giants secured her presence for INR 70 lakh in the upcoming WPL 2025. After playing nine games, she is boasting a 49.25 average in the WPL with a total of 197 runs at a strike rate of 151 across the same nine games.
During the rebuilding phase of the Gujarat Giants’ team for WPL 2026, her ability to finish innings and especially against spin bowling will be considered crucial. Besides that, she will get to learn a lot from such international stars as the captain Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Devine, and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge.
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