Table of Contents
A new chapter in Indian women’s cricket begins on Friday when Smriti Mandhana leads the Women in Blue for the first time as full-time captain in a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in Raipur.
The series runs until October 20 and all the matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.
All three IND-W vs ZIM-W T20 2026 matches will be available to watch on live streaming and live telecast in India.
The T20 series will be followed by a separate three-match ODI series to be played at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara from October 23.
Mandhana takes charge as the Indian women’s cricket team’s white-ball captain, with Shafali Verma named her deputy for the T20I series. The pair step up after Harmanpreet Kaur relinquished the captaincy earlier this month.
Harmanpreet, however, remains available as a player and keeps her place in the 15-member group.
The assignment is India’s first outing since successfully defending their Asian Games title in Aichi-Nagoya last month.
Mandhana steps into the role with leadership experience behind her, having captained India in 18 T20Is for 11 wins, six defeats and a no-result. She also steered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Women’s Premier League titles in 2024 and 2026.
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will be led by Josephine Nkomo and arrive in India shortly after beating the West Indies in a women’s ODI for the first time in Harare last month.
India Women vs Zimbabwe Women T20 head-to-head
Interestingly, this will be the first time that India and Zimbabwe will face off in women’s international cricket.
The series will also serve as important preparatory matches for India ahead of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy scheduled in India in February next year.
Where to watch India vs Zimbabwe women’s T20 2026 live
Live streaming of the India Women vs Zimbabwe Women T20 2026 series will be available to watch on JioHotstar. The IND-W vs ZIM-W T20 matches will be telecast live on the Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi TV channels in India.
India Women vs Zimbabwe Women T20 2026 schedule
All in Indian Standard Times (IST)
- October 16, Friday: India Women vs Zimbabwe Women 1st T20, Raipur – 7:00 PM
- October 18, Sunday: India Women vs Zimbabwe Women 2nd T20, Raipur – 7:00 PM
- October 20, Tuesday: India Women vs Zimbabwe Women 3rd T20, Raipur – 7:00 PM
IND-W vs ZIM-W T20 2026 squads
India women’s cricket team: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Shafali Verma (vice-captain), Niki Prasad, Harmanpreet Kaur, Anushka Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Sree Charani, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Jintimani Kalita, Minnu Mani
Zimbabwe women’s cricket team: Josephine Nkomo (captain), Beloved Biza, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Kelis Ndhlovu, Michelle Mavunga, Francisca Chipare, Olinder Chare, Kudzai Chigora, Nyasha Gwanzura, Nomvelo Sibanda, Loryn Phiri, Chiyedza Dhururu, Modester Mupachikwa, Tendai Makusha, Sharne Mayers.
