The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 is set to begin on Friday, with all the games to be played in Dubai. The first match of the tournament will see Thailand take on Hong Kong, while India will open their campaign on Sunday against Thailand. Fans will be eagerly waiting for the massive IND vs PAK contest to take place on 5th September 2026.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was part of the captain’s press conference ahead of the tournament opener. Questions invariably turned towards the massive contest between the two arch-rivals. The 37-year-old Indian star, though, downplayed the game and said that she was focused on all sides and didn’t want to take any team lightly.
“We aren’t focusing on one team, as it will make it tough for all of us. All the sides are doing well, and our focus will be to play good cricket and not to take any team lightly. ” The focus is to play good cricket and not other things which can impact our game,” she said.
The Women in Blue have won the title on seven occasions, four of them coming in the ODI format in the first four editions. Since 2012, the event has been played in T20I format, in which the Indians have won three titles out of the five tournaments. Last campaign saw Sri Lanka win their first title when they beat India in the final by eight wickets in front of their home fans.
Indian team has been facing massive pressure in recent times after their first-round exit in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup. The team managed to win three games but lost the key encounters against Australia and South Africa, which saw them miss out on a spot in the semi-finals.
Also read: Women’s Asia Cup 2026: Complete details of squads, venues, timings, matches, and telecast.
Team India’s matches in Women’s Asia Cup 2026
Vs Thailand on 30th August 2026
Vs Hong Kong, China on 3rd September 2026
Vs Pakistan on 5th September 2026
India are in Group A, and the top two teams from each group will make it to the semi-finals. Unlike the Men’s tournament, which also has a Super 4 stage, the Women’s tournament will have each team play three league matches and potentially two knock-out games.
Women’s Asia Cup 2026: India squad
Smriti MandhanaShafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Richa GhoshG Kamalini, Prerna Rawat, Radha Yadav, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud.