Anya Shrubsole, a former England fast bowler, was appointed as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) new bowling coach for the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League. Shrubsole’s signing is part of a wider restructuring of the RCB coaching staff to aid the bowling department and provide stability following mixed results in recent seasons.
Malolan Rangarajan to take over as interim head coach
With Luke Williams’s absence due to a clash with his commitments to the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, Malolan Rangarajan will be head coach for RCB this season in the WPL. A former Tamil Nadu spinner who has been a part of the RCB support staff for many years, he has previously performed various roles at the franchise, including as assistant coach and also lead scout for the men’s team.
The WPL 2026 has been brought forward by a month now and will take place from January 8 to early February, thereby overlapping with the BBL calendar. This rescheduling also ties in with India’s preparation to co-host the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with Sri Lanka in the February-March window, before IPL 2026.
Anya Shrubsole’s Coaching Journey
Anya Shrubsole, an English cricket World Cup winner of 2017, retired from her international cricket career in 2022 after a successful career where she picked up over 200 wickets at all formats of the game. After retiring, Shrubsole was active in coaching as player-assistant coach to Charlotte Edwards for Southern Vipers in England.
Shrubsole’s appointment at RCB will be her first role in the WPL, assuming the original position held by Sunetra Paranjape, who was the RCB bowling coach until 2025. Shrubsole is expected to lend her experience as a top-level player and bowler whilst developing as a coach to add value to RCB’s bowling unit.
Continuity in RCB’s Support Staff
While the RCB makes these adjustments at the top, a lot of the current support team remains intact: R. Muralidhar will serve as batting coach while Navnita Gautam will serve as head physio keeping a continuity perspective on the side’s preparation and performance management.
Rangarajan’s Immediate Task: Player Retentions and WPL Auction 2026
As interim head coach, Rangarajan’s first major task will be to confirm the RCB player retention list that will be submitted ahead of the deadline of November 5. The WPL 2026 mega auction is likely to take place on November 26 in New Delhi.
Team sources say RCB is unanimous over retaining Smriti Mandhana as captain and top retention, while negotiations are still on for key players like Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Sophie Molineux, and Shreyanka Patil.
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Recent Performance and Season’s Prospects of RCB
The RCB women’s team has seen a steady rise since the league’s inception. Having finished fourth twice on either side of their title win in 2024 under Smriti Mandhana, the franchise will be eager to reclaim their championship form in WPL 2026.
Success in the women’s league was followed by a breakthrough in the men’s division as RCB’s men’s team won their first-ever IPL title in 2025, thus making it a watershed period for the Bengaluru-based franchise.
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