Who is Kristen Beams, Mumbai Indians new spin-bowling coach for 2026 WPL?

Kristen Beams joined Mumbai Indians as spin-bowling coach. (PHOTO: ICC/Mumbai Indians)

Defending champions Mumbai Indians have appointed former Australian leg-spinner Kristen Beams as spin-bowling coach for the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, the franchise announced on Monday.

Beams, a veteran of one Test, 30 ODIs, 18 T20Is and 45 T20 games in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), has joined forces with MI head coach Lisa Keightley and mentor Jhulan Goswami, batting coach Devika Palshikar and fielding coach Nicole Bolton. The leg-spinner was instrumental in Australia’s World Cup campaigns, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker at the 2017 ODI World Cup.

The 41-year-old Beams has coached in the WBBL and The Hundred while also being coach of the Australia Women’s U19 team, the National Development Lead at Cricket Australia and Community Cricket Manager – South at Cricket Tasmania.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to work with someone like a Jhulan Goswami, one of the greats of the game, somebody I played cricket against. (It’s an) incredible culture…that they’ve developed a winning culture over a really long period of time, but a family that’s what you hear everyone talk about that this group is so tight-knit, and it’s a family and it’s what you want to be a part of. And I think as a coach coming in, that’s exactly what you want to be able to do, is to walk into an environment that feels really tight-knit, and a team that knows how to win,” Beams said in MI’s Instagram post.

MI are the most successful franchise in WPL history, having won two out of the total three seasons until now. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side defeated the Delhi Capitals on both occasions to lift the title.

The WPL 2026 will kick off on 9th January with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener. The 28-day tournament will be played across two venues in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara.