CRICKET – BAHRAIN’S senior women’s cricket national team will be competing in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Women’s Premier Cup 2026, set to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from June 1 to 13.
The kingdom’s squad will be among 18 nations in the event, which is one of the most expansive tournaments on the ACC calendar. It will be played in Twenty20 International format.
The Bahrain Cricket Federation have announced a 14-player squad for the competition. The team is to be skippered by Rasangika Herath, while Sana Butt is the vice-captain and wicket keeper.
The rest of the roster includes wicket keeper Ashwini Munglimane, Abeer Waris Ali, Sweeta Corda, Nipuni Nadeera, Tharanga Gajanayake, Saee Parkhi, Shruti Yadav, Sara Vivek, Reema Naseer, Manmeet Kaur, Reshel Dsouza, and Disna Jayasooriya.
Reserve players are Jyothika Jinish, Eman Mohammad, Sheetal Hate, Satya Kaki, Mishal Siraj, and Pushpa Thapa.
The team’s officials are head coach Mirza Azeem Ul Haque, coach Kundan Kumar Gupta, and manager Tarique Firoz Sayyed.
Bahrain have been drawn in Group A alongside Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, and Mongolia – a pool that presents both challenge and opportunity. Group B is composed of the UAE, Oman, China, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia. Group C comprises Indonesia, Kuwait, Singapore, and hosts Malaysia, while Group D features Nepal, Hong Kong, Bhutan, and Qatar.
The event represents a prized platform for Bahrain’s women to measure their progress against national teams from across Asia and earn valuable international exposure in the fast-paced T20 format.
The tournament follows closely on the heels of the Asian Games qualifiers, with Kuala Lumpur once again taking centre stage as a hub for women’s cricket in the region.
Thailand, the UAE, and Nepal have been identified as the tournament’s strongest contenders. Thailand’s consistency makes them a formidable force, while the UAE’s structured programme and Nepal’s dynamic approach add further intrigue to the race for top honours.
Yet, in the T20 format, any given day holds the potential for a stunning upset, and smaller cricketing nations have historically seized such occasions to announce themselves on the continental stage.
The ACC Women’s Premier Cup is also evidence of the growing reach and inclusivity of cricket across the continent. The ACC has long championed the development of emerging cricketing nations, and tournaments like this are central to that mission, offering smaller associations the fixtures, experience, and competitive environment needed to accelerate growth.
Bahrain’s clash with Thailand will be a stern test, but one that coaches and players alike will relish as a benchmark for the team’s development. Matches against Myanmar, Japan, and Mongolia, meanwhile, offer opportunities to build momentum and develop tournament habits that could serve the team well in the knockout stages.
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