Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil will make her comeback in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League after Barbados Royals took her with their first overseas pick, placing three Indian players in this year’s tournament.
Fast facts first
• Patil joins the holders Barbados Royals, who are chasing a third straight title.
• Trinbago Knight Riders snapped up seamer Shikha Pandey and uncapped leg-spinner Salonee Dangore.
• The competition runs entirely in Guyana from 6-17 September, with all seven matches at Providence Stadium.
Why it matters
Patil, still only 22, missed the 2025 Women’s Premier League with a stress fracture and has not bowled in a match since October. “I’m just relieved to be fit again and can’t wait to feel the rhythm of competitive overs,” she posted on X soon after the draft. Her return strengthens a Royals attack already built around Hayley Matthews’ off-spin and new signing Chamari Athapaththu’s all-round skills.
Pandey, 36, remains one of India’s most dependable new-ball operators. “Shikha is a proven operator in the powerplay and brings calm under pressure,” Knight Riders head coach Sarah Taylor said. Pandey claimed four wickets at 6.80 an over for TKR last season. Dangore, 20, impressed Delhi Capitals as a net bowler in the WPL and now gets a first taste of franchise cricket.
How the squads shape up
Barbados Royals look settled. Matthews, the tournament’s leading run-scorer (424) and wicket-taker (23), tops their retention list, supported by West Indian regulars Chinelle Henry and Afy Fletcher. Athapaththu, Sri Lanka’s captain, adds left-hand aggression at the top while Australia’s Georgia Redmayne and Courtney Webb bolster the middle.
Guyana Amazon Warriors again build around Stafanie Taylor and pace ace Shabnim Ismail. They have brought in Australians Laura Harris and Madeline Penna for extra hitting and wrist-spin respectively. “We wanted raw pace and clean striking; Harris and Ismail tick those boxes,” Guyana director Shiv Seeram explained.
Knight Riders, beaten finalists last year, retain Deandra Dottin and reinforce with Australian duo Jess Jonassen and Lizelle Lee. Zaida James, 19, stays on after an eye-catching debut season. “Continuity is crucial, but adding experience around youngsters like Zaida should make us harder to beat,” Taylor added.
Schedule quirks
All fixtures are afternoon starts—four at 2 pm, two at 3 pm, one at 4 pm—keeping dew out of the equation and favouring spinners such as Patil. Six league games are spread over eleven days, followed by the final less than 24 hours after the last group match, so managing workloads will be critical.
Early talking points
• Can Patil pick up where she left off, having been Purple Cap winner in WPL 2024?
• Will Matthews maintain her double-threat dominance or does the added responsibility of the three-peat chase weigh her down?
• Do Warriors finally have enough late-order power to support Taylor’s anchor role?
There’s plenty to chew over, but for now the headline is simple: Indian talent is back on show in the Caribbean, and a fit-again Shreyanka Patil sits right at the heart of it.
