RCB Appoints Anya Shrubsole as Bowling Coach for WPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru has appointed former England pacer Anya Shrubsole as their new bowling coach for the Women's Premier League 2026 season. She joins Malolan Rangarajan, who will take over as head coach. This transition follows Luke Williams stepping down, aligning with preparations for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has brought on board former England fast bowler Anya Shrubsole as their new bowling coach ahead of the Women's Premier League 2026 season. Shrubsole teams up with the newly appointed head coach Malolan Rangarajan, a former Tamil Nadu spinner.

This change is consequent to Luke Williams stepping down due to commitments with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. The WPL 2026 is slated to begin on January 8, acting as a strategic preparatory phase for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled for June to July.

The 2017 World Cup winner Shrubsole retired from international cricket in 2022, taking over 200 wickets during her career. Her involvement with RCB marks her debut in the WPL. Prior to Shrubsole, Sunetra Paranjape held the bowling coach position until 2025. Since the league's inception, Rangarajan has been a cornerstone of RCB's coaching team, initially working under Ben Sawyer and Mike Hesson, and later assisting Luke Williams through the team's victorious 2024 campaign and beyond.

Other pivotal members of RCB's support staff include R. Muralidhar, who continues his stint as batting coach, and Navnita Gautam, who is expected to maintain her role as head physio. Rangarajan's immediate focus will be on finalizing player retentions by the November 5 deadline, in preparation for the anticipated WPL mega auction on November 26 in New Delhi.

(With inputs from agencies.)