Six players to watch at ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027

The stage is set for an historic moment in women’s cricket as the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in India early next year. The tournament brings together six powerhouse teams for a high-octane T20I showdown.

Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka make up the six teams that will face-off against each other in the showpiece tournament
Each team brings in their ranks a mix of talent and experience, players who will look to set the tournament alight. 

Here’s a look at some of the premier players who can shine in the competition:

Australia

Phoebe Litchfield

Not afraid to take on any bowling attack from ball one, Phoebe Litchfield represents the next generation of Australian batting flair. 

Her 360-degree strokeplay and fearless approach make her an immediate threat on the sub-continental tracks. 

She displayed her wares during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, hosted in India and Sri Lanka. Litchfield scored 304 runs in seven matches at a fiery average of 50.67 and a strike-rate of 112.17. 

In 39 T20Is, she has scored 687 runs while maintaining a rapid strike rate around 137.95. During the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year Litchfield managed 126 runs from four innings at an imposing strike rate of 141.57.

India

Shafali Verma

India's aggressive opening force with a career across 122 T20Is, Shafali Verma’s career strike rate remains in excess of 140, showcasing her ability to score fast. Her brisk starts force the opposition into early defensive tactics. 

Shafali’s explosive opening Powerplay potential for India as a batter is backed by her more-than-capable bowling. Her 22 wickets in T20Is have come in at an average of merely 21.36 and an economy of six. 

At the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year Shafali managed to score 179 runs, while she also chipped in with five valuable wickets.

England

Lauren Bell

With a natural ability to extract sharp bounce and early inswing, Lauren Bell is England’s prime strike weapon with the new ball. 

Bell’s skill to extract something extra out of the wicket could be particularly useful on the slower tracks in India, where the batters wouldn’t expect the ball to rise as much.

With her rhythm and height, Bell becomes a reliable resource for early Powerplay breakthroughs. 

With tight, attacking lines early in the innings, the pacer hits the seam and forces the batters to defend off the back foot. 

She has 67 T20I wickets at a lethal average of 18.86 and managed to claim seven scalps for England at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

New Zealand

Georgia Plimmer

Georgia Plimmer has rapidly developed into one of New Zealand’s most exciting top-order prospects. 

Known for her aggressive approach at the top of the order, she provides New Zealand with dynamic starts during the Powerplay. 

Her ability to clear the infield and play fearlessly against high-pace bowling makes her a vital asset. 

Plimmer has accumulated 772 T20I runs across 57 matches at a strike rate of 104.6, with perhaps her most impressive showing coming during New Zealand’s successful T20 World Cup campaign in 2024 where the hard-hitting right-hander finished as the equal fourth leading run-scorer.

South Africa

Nadine de Klerk

Serving as a vital seam-bowling all-rounder who delivers tight middle and death-overs, while contributing crucial lower-order runs as a fiery finisher, Nadine de Klerk has collected 64 T20I wickets at an economy rate of 7.7 alongside 852 runs at a strike rate of 105.44. 

Her composure under pressure regularly turns tight chases in South Africa's favour with a knack for striking crucial boundaries in the final overs. She’s also a stellar fielder, often taking crucial catches and saving runs at critical stages of the game.

Sri Lanka 

Harshitha Samarawickrama 

Serving as Sri Lanka’s dependable top-order anchor with sound technique and sweep shots that steady the innings, Harshitha Samarawickrama has compiled 1,977 T20I runs across 99 matches at a strike rate of 101.8. 

Her evolution into Sri Lanka's reliable top-order pillar provides the team with steady tactical rotation against quality spin during the middle overs.

Her ability to manipulate field placements and construct composure-filled innings under pressure, consistently lays the platform for Sri Lanka's total.