Mumbai Indians Name New Head Coach for WPL 2026 Season

On Tuesday, the Mumbai Indians revealed the appointment of ex-Australian cricketer Lisa Keightley as their new head coach for the upcoming season of the Women's Premier League (WPL) in 2026. Keightley takes over from Charlotte Edwards, who guided the team to two WPL titles, earlier this year resigned to become the head of women's cricket in England.

Keightley, 54, has extensive experience both as a player and a coach. She played for Australia 92 times across all formats with nine Test matches, 82 ODIs, and a T20I. She was also a part of Australia's World Cup-winning teams in 1997 and 2005. Post-international cricket retirement, she transitioned to coaching and has been in senior positions with both the Australian and England women's teams.

Her latest coaching assignment was with the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, where she guided the team to a championship title. Knightly has also coached in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) with the Sydney Thunder, adding to her coaching credentials in women's cricket.

Talking about her new assignment, Keightley stated she was privileged to be part of the Mumbai Indians, what she called the "benchmark" in the WPL. She was thrilled at the prospect of working with a young group of talented players and carrying on the winning culture of the franchise both on and off the pitch.

Mumbai Indians have been among the most solid teams in the league, and they have won two of the first three WPL titles. They were champions in 2023 and 2025, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the title in 2024. In their winning finals, MI beat Delhi Capitals in both instances, but lost to RCB in the 2024 Eliminator.