Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pace-bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar will remain on the sidelines for the first two weeks of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 season due to a hamstring injury.
In the season opener at the DY Patil Stadium, RCB pipped Mumbai Indians to kick-start their campaign with a last-ball win. Vastrakar did not take part in the match. Following the victory, head coach Malolan Rangarajan confirmed that she was unavailable for selection and also provided an update on her injury and expected recovery timeline.
“Pooja Vastrakar was not available for selection (against Mumbai Indians)” Malolan said at the press conference on Friday (January 9). “Two weeks prior to her release from the CoE (Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru), she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring. The information we have is that she will be there for two more weeks. Earlier, she was there (at the CoE) for her shoulder; now she has a hamstring issue. It’s a week-by-week process, so let’s see where she is at.”
According to the RCB head coach, Vastrakar sustained the hamstring injury at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where she had been recovering from a shoulder issue.
This marks the latest setback for the Madhya Pradesh-based player. It has been more than a year since she last featured in competitive cricket, with her most recent appearance coming in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 26-year-old underwent successful shoulder surgery last year, which forced her to miss both the previous WPL season and the World Cup.
Despite her injury concerns, she was picked up by RCB for INR 85 lakh at the WPL auction. The RCB management had expected her to recover in time for the start of the tournament, but an untimely injury will now keep her out for at least two more weeks.
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