Why India Recalled Radha Yadav and Yastika Bhatia for T20 World Cup 2026

India recalls Radha Yadav and Yastika Bhatia for T20 World Cup 2026 due to injuries and form

Why Radha Yadav was Recalled Radha Yadav last played a T20I on the tour of England in 2025. Her athleticism and batting ability previously made her a valuable asset, but with a wealth of left-arm spinners at India's disposal, her lack of wickets was no longer a viable option. Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam's presence meant India didn't need their left-arm spinners to be all-rounders. N Shree Charani established herself as the primary left-arm spinner in both white-ball formats, and Vaishnavi Sharma was also handed a cap in both ODIs and T20Is. Radha Yadav showcased her ability in the WPL 2026, scoring her maiden WPL fifty while batting at No. 5 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and returning an economy rate of 7.78 in a tournament with high scores, but for only two wickets. She also missed the tours of Australia and South Africa. Instead, she captained India A to the Rising Stars Asia Cup title in Bangkok, where she was the joint top-wicket taker with ten wickets. Playing for West Zone in the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy, she took 12 wickets and scored 224 runs in four innings, including a century, finishing second on both the batting and bowling charts. With recent injuries to Amanjot and Gautam, India turned to the experienced Radha to fill the all-rounder's role. Chief selector Amita Sharma said, 'Radha played a few domestic tournaments and captained India A to Bangkok,' and her performances 'showed that her bowling is in a better rhythm.' She also added, 'Experience also matters. In Amanjot's absence, we needed an all-rounder, hence we added her.' Captain Harmanpreet Kaur concurred, 'We have got Radha back in the side because she is also an all-rounder who can contribute with bat, ball and on the field. Amanjot's replacement is hard to find, but we are trying to balance the team with the players available.' ## Yastika Bhatia Returns to the Squad Yastika Bhatia has been out of action since August 2025, undergoing an ACL surgery last October. However, once she regained fitness, selectors saw not just a wicketkeeper but also a top-order batting option in her. She has batted in the top three in seven of her 14 T20I innings. Amita said, 'Yastika is a little more experienced,' and 'apart from being a wicketkeeper, she gives us a top-order batter option, so we went with Yastika.' ## Bharti Fulmali's Rise to Prominence Amanjot's absence was a double whammy for India, robbing them of an extra seam option and a lower-middle order batter. Power-hitters who can finish games off are still hard to find in India, with Richa Ghosh shouldering that responsibility in the last few years. India would ideally want another boundary-hitter in the lower order to share the burden with Ghosh. Enter Bharti Fulmali, who ended her seven-year exile from international cricket earlier this year when she was picked for South Africa. Until the recent bilateral series, Fulmali had played only two T20Is, both back in March 2019. Bharti Fulmali has transformed herself into a dangerous finisher, striking at 172.72 in WPL 2025 and at 146.91 in WPL 2026. She hit eight sixes in the 81 balls she faced in this year's WPL. For context, Ghosh's strike rate in the WPL this year was 151.20 and Harmanpreet's at 150.66. Amita said, 'The one middle-order slot that we had, we felt that Fulmali was a better fit.' Harleen Deol is still in their scheme of things, but in T20s, they felt Fulmali was a better option for that role.