Sushma Verma Replaces Yastika Bhatia at Trinbago Knight Riders for WCPL Knockouts

Ahead of the knockout stages of the 2026 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), Trinbago Knight Riders replaced India wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia with India wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma.

Bhatia, who is one of the leading run scorers in this year’s tournament, has left the event to join India A where she will lead the squad for the upcoming series against Australia A consisting of three-match one-day series starting on 20 September followed by a four-day fixture.

It comes at a time when TKR were set to head into the final without one of their premier batting options, but the franchise wasted little time adding experience behind the stumps and in the middle order. Already capped at international level, Sushma will now get her opportunity to make an impression in the Caribbean.

The shift also signals Sushma’s return to top-level franchise cricket after an extended absence. Her last involvement with any India squad was in the 2023 T20I tri-series held in South Africa, where she did not play.

Her only other experience of a franchise campaign came earlier in 2023, when she played with Gujarat Giants in the first season of the Women’s Premier League. Through ADR, her strike rate over five innings was 79.24 and she scored 42 runs.

But the wicketkeeper-batter has been focusing on her power-hitting in particular. The 2025-26 domestic one-day tournament saw her striking nine sixes in only six innings, the third-best tally in the competition.

Sushma had the honour of portraying her excitement while talking up about the opportunity saying that joining WCPL was special and attributed to her hard work which is bringing in development with respect to T20 skills.

She is the sixth Indian player to be part of WCPL 2026 with Sushma’s inclusion. Shikha Pandey trades places with her in TKR, while Kiran Navgire (Barbados Trident), Pooja Vastrakar (Barbados Trident) and Harleen Deol round off the final.

Having finished top of the four-team league standings, TKR already booked their place in the final. Amazon Warriors take on Barbados Tridents in the playoff for the final berth.

The final of the WCPL will be held on September 17 in Bridgetown, where TKR will face the winner of the playoff.