Yastika Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar set to make maiden WCPL appearances

Meg Lanning, Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp headline the prominent overseas signings made by Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) franchises ahead of the fifth edition. Lanning and Kapp will be making their WCPL debuts this season.

Lanning has been signed by Jamaica Empress, the fourth and newest team to join the league. Pakistan’s leg‑spinner Syeda Aroob Shah, Ireland’s Amy Hunter, South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba and New Zealand’s Rosemary Mair are the other foreign players recruited by Empress.

Veteran seamer Shikha Pandey, Yastika Bhatia, Kiran Navgire and Pooja Vastrakar are the Indian players confirmed so far. Yastika and Pandey will represent Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), while Navgire and Vastrakar will feature for Barbados Tridents. Barring Shikha, all three Indians will be making their maiden appearances in the tournament.

The WCPL 2026 season marks Vastrakar’s first high‑profile tournament since October 2024 as she returns from a long injury layoff. She had a tear in her right shoulder, which she managed for 18 months with injections and painkillers after doctors advised her against surgery. She was recently seen in action in the Madhya Pradesh T20 League.

Season five of the WCPL will begin on September 5 in Bridgetown. Barbados are the most successful franchise, having won three consecutive titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Trinbago Knight Riders won the inaugural edition.

South African quartet of Chloe Tryon, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tazmin Brits and Nadine de Klerk will also be in action this season. Ismail, Tryon, Brits and de Klerk have been signed by Guyana Amazon Warriors, whereas Mlaba will be in action for Empress.

WCPL overseas signings

Barbados Tridents: Maddy Green, Suzie Bates, Pooja Vastrakar, Kiran Navgire

Guyana Amazon Warriors: Shabnim Ismail, Erin Burns, Chloe Tryon, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk

Jamaica Empress: Meg Lanning, Amy Hunter, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Syeda Aroob Shah, Rosemary Mair

Trinbago Knight Riders: Marizanne Kapp, Shikha Pandey, Laura Harris, Madeline Penna, Yastika Bhatia