We are not too far away from the tenth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup, set to start on June 12 in England. As in every such tournament, the 12 sides are filled with fresh and promising players ready to rule the world. Here are eight players who are either young talents or newcomers to watch.
Tilly Corteen-Coleman (England)
Eighteen-year-old left-arm spinner Corteen-Coleman is among four spinners and the only teenager in the England squad. After her second season (2025) with Southern Brave in the Hundred was a vast improvement over her first, she was picked for England's camp in South Africa in March this year where she impressed head coach Charlotte Edwards enough to earn her World Cup selection. It was symbolic in a way because Corteen-Coleman first made her name as a 16-year-old when she bagged four wickets in four balls in the Charlotte Edwards Cup before she got an Under-19 World Cup ticket in 2025. Corteen-Coleman also has a penchant for bagging big wickets, which started with Meg Lanning on her Hundred debut, and more recently Richa Ghosh on her T20I debut.
Kayla Reyneke (South Africa)
Reyneke is a destructive batting allrounder who also bowls offspin and led South Africa to the final of the 2025 Under-19 World Cup. Such are her six-hitting skills and a flourishing follow-through that her senior captain, Laura Wolvaardt, called her explosive ability "pretty rare," especially at the age of 20. Earlier this year, Reyneke also achieved a rare feat of hitting a six off the last ball on both her T20I and ODI debuts, the second one when South Africa needed six to win off the final ball against New Zealand, and she launched the ball over long-on. She was named the Player of the Match, something she has also achieved twice already in her nine T20Is.
Nandani Sharma (India)
A surprise pick in the India squad, Nandani was an unknown six months ago. She made her name by taking a hat-trick in her second WPL game and shone in an all-international bowling attack, including a five-for in the match. The pace bowler from Chandigarh starred through the tournament with her variations, especially the slower ball, and finished with 17 wickets, the joint-most with Sophie Devine. Called a "captain's delight" by her Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues, Nandani was soon picked for India A and recently made her T20I debut in England, starting her international journey with a three-for. She could play a big role in the death overs, especially on the slower pitches in the upcoming World Cup.
Bree Illing (New Zealand)
A 22-year-old tall fast bowler, Illing brings a zing to the New Zealand side that they have barely seen. She is just the second left-arm quick to have played for New Zealand in T20Is, and with her lethal inswing and height, she could prove to be a handful in swinging conditions in England. Illing made waves over two years ago when she bowled a game-changing triple-wicket over for Auckland that sent back three internationals - Natalie Dodd, Thamsyn Newton and Hannah Rowe - all trapped lbw with her inswing. After representing New Zealand A, she made her ODI and T20I debuts within the space of ten days early last year and soon earned a central contract. Illing could prove to be a potent new-ball weapon.
Amy Hunter (Ireland)
Five years after she made her international debut as a 15-year-old, Amy Hunter, still only 20, has established herself as one of the first names on Ireland's teamsheet. She has missed only four T20Is since Ireland's last T20 World Cup appearance in 2023. In this period, she has scored 1331 runs at a strike rate of 120.56. Only Gaby Lewis (1491) has more runs in this period for Ireland. Only Orla Prendergast (122.16) and Lewis (121.12) have scored at a quicker rate for Ireland than Hunter (minimum 100 runs) since March 2023. In the recent tri-series, Hunter's 44-ball 56 against Pakistan set Ireland on course for their highest successful chase in women's T20Is.
Lucy Hamilton (Australia)
Hamilton nudged Darcie Brown, who had helped Australia win their last T20 World Cup in 2023, out of the squad with head coach Shelley Nitschke calling her left-arm seam "a real point of difference". She has captained Australia Under-19 in two World Cups and is on the cusp of her maiden senior women's T20 World Cup, thanks to a blockbuster six months. A 19-ball 36 on her WPL debut propelled her into the spotlight. She made her ODI debut after a belated call-up, picked up six wickets against India on Test debut and made her T20I debut on the tour of West Indies. In conditions that aid seam and swing, the tall left-arm quick could be more than a handful.
Juairiya Ferdous (Bangladesh)
At 20, Ferdous is the second-youngest player in Bangladesh's T20 World Cup squad. Born in Jhenidah, a town 200km west of Dhaka, Ferdous represented Bangladesh in multiple sports before taking up cricket. She played for the national hockey side and at the 2023 National Youth Games, she won gold medals in each of hockey, shotput and kabaddi. A successful season in the National Cricket League last year propelled Ferdous into Bangladesh's squad for the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal. She scored her maiden international fifty against Thailand and has warmed up for the T20 World Cup with a half-century against Ireland. For long, Bangladesh were in search of an attacking top-order batter; in Ferdous they have that and more.
Gabriella Fontenla (Scotland)
Gabriella Fontenla, 18, is only starting her international career but has already garnered interest because of her ability to bowl high pace. She played the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup for Scotland last year but had already made her ODI debut before that. Her T20I bow came in the recent tri-series featuring Bangladesh and Netherlands. She dismissed Dilara Akter for her maiden wicket and ended up with the Player-of-the-Match award. She plays club cricket for the Yorkshire Academy and could be more than a handful when Scotland play West Indies and England at Headingley.