The Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) drafted in India wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma for the knockout stage of the 2026 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). Verma has been brought in as a replacement for Yastika Bhatia, who is leaving the tournament to join India A ahead of their series against Australia.
One of the top performers with the bat in this year’s WCPL, Bhatia is second on the tournament run-scoring charts. She is departing having already been briefed about an important India A assignment. She will lead the side in a three-match one-day series against Australia A starting September 20 before playing a four-day fixture.
“In Sushma Verma’s case, the step is a chance to get back to playing high-level competitive cricket. The last time the wicketkeeper-batter was seen with the Indian national side was during T20I tri-series in South Africa in 2023, but she did not play a game. She did feature for the national franchise when she played for Gujarat Giants in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) season of 2023, scoring 42 runs from five innings.
Verma, in recent times, has focused on working up her attacking batting. During the 2025-26 domestic one-day tournament, she hit nine sixes in six innings — the third-most in the event. Selection for TKR, she feels, is a product of the hard work she has put into her T20 game.
In regards to the opportunity, Verma said: “I’m super excited to come join the WCPL (Women’s Premier League) and get into this Knight Riders set-up. She attributed her recent accomplishments as a factor for being provided with the opportunity to compete in the tournament.
The 2026 WCPL sees six Indian players with the arrival of Verma Apart from Verma and Bhatia, the TKR squad features Shikha Pandey while Kiran Navgire, Pooja Vastrakar and Harleen Deol are with the Barbados Tridents.
TKR have already qualified for the final, having topped a four-team league. Remaining final spot: Barbados Tridents vs Guyana Amazon Warriors (playoff) Bridgetown will host the final match on September 17. h
