Anya Shrubsole appointed as new RCB bowling coach as part of a reshuffle of their support ahead of WPL 2026.
As part of a reorganisation of their support before to WPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have named former England fast bowler Anya Shrubsole as their new bowling coach.
The former Tamil Nadu spinner Malolan Rangarajan, who will take over as head coach for the forthcoming season, will collaborate with Shrubsole. Luke Williams, who took over as head coach prior to the 2024 season, is expected to miss WPL 2026 because of his BBL commitments with Adelaide Strikers, which made the change essential.
Due to the WPL’s one-month advance, there is a scheduling problem. The event is expected to begin on January 8 and will end in early February. Prior to IPL 2026, India and Sri Lanka are scheduled to co-host the men’s T20 World Cup during the February–March timeframe.
Shrubsole, who won the 2017 World Cup, resigned from international cricket in 2022 after taking more than 200 wickets. She was Charlotte Edwards’ player-and assistant coach with Southern Vipers during the subsequent season. She will be playing in the WPL for the first time with RCB. Up to 2025, Sunetra Paranjape was the RCB’s bowling coach.
Since the first season, Rangarajan has been a member of RCB’s WPL squad. Rangarajan, who is also the men’s team’s lead scout, worked under Ben Sawyer and Mike Hesson in 2023 before assisting Williams during their championship-winning season in 2024 and the most recent one, in which they failed to get to the final.
R Muralidhar, the batting coach, and Navnita Gautam, the head physiotherapist, are the other members of the RCB support staff.
Rangarajan’s first task will be to decide which players RCB will keep before the deadline of November 5. The WPL mega auction is expected to take place in New Delhi on November 26. Smriti Mandhana is reportedly the team’s unanimous choice for captain and top retention for the upcoming WPL cycle. Ellyse Perry, Richa Ghosh, Sophie Molineux, and Shreyanka Patil are also being discussed as potential retentions.
Before the men’s team followed suit in 2025 and won their first IPL title, RCB had two fourth-place finishes in 2024—their first-ever trophy—under Mandhana.