WPL 2026: Harmanpreet Kaur Eyes Back-to-Back Titles as Mumbai Indians Face RCB in Opener

Defending WPL champions Mumbai Indians are set for the new season against RCB. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is confident of retaining the trophy, while the team welcomes new head coach Lisa Keightley and an all-female coaching panel.

After a title-winning run in the previous edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL), Mumbai Indians (MI) - the most successful team in the competition, are raring to go into the new season, taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opener on January 9. Having guided the Indian women's cricket team to World Cup glory, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur looks to take the inspiration and defend the league title. "Whenever I go on the field, I tell my team that I want to win the trophy. This new year starts with the WPL, and I have the same energy and excitement going into the tournament. We have the same mindset. We have won two trophies in the last three seasons. And we want to play well this season and win the trophy again," Harmanpreet asserted during the Mumbai Indians' pre-season press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.

"It's my first job in Mumbai, and I think it's a very special city for me because whenever I get a chance to play here, I always get to see positive results. I am sure this season is also going to be very special. I am really happy that last season and last year turned out to be very good overall for women's cricket. I hope this year also starts the same way," she added.

MI's All-Female Coaching Staff Inspires Confidence

This time, the team will also look forward to drawing inspiration from two-time World Cup winner Lisa Keightley, who takes the helm for her first WPL season with the Mumbai Indians. Lisa reflected on having an all-female coaching staff and how it reflects MI's ethos and Nita M. Ambani's vision to empower women through sport. "To have a full female coaching panel is really exciting and something different for me. We're giving an opportunity for supporters and females across the world to actually see females in the coaching space. From that point of view, I would love to see it more often and I think over the next 10 years you'll see that," she noted, as quoted from a release.

"To have a female leader in powerful positions making decisions, as MrAmbani also plays a part in why we've got females in our coaching staff. So it starts at the top, and it's filtered down. So it's really fantastic to have those opportunities," Lisa concluded.

Jhulan Goswami Lauds New Head Coach

Voicing her thoughts on new head coach Lisa, MI mentor and bowling coach Jhulan Goswami said, "It's a blessing to work with her as she has 20 years of coaching experience. We can learn a lot under her leadership. At MI, we believe that women should always come forward and I think having an all-female coaching team is the best thing for us."

Core Squad Retained

MI have retained the core from last year's winning squad. (ANI)

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