Shafali Verma rises to 6th place in Women’s T20I rankings; Deepti Sharma stays as No 1 bowler

Dubai: Indian opener Shafali Verma surged to sixth place in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Batting Rankings released on Tuesday, while all-rounder Deepti Sharma continued to hold on to the top position in the bowling rankings.

The right-handed batter jumped four spots following a stellar performance in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at home. Verma has been the standout performer of the series so far, amassing 236 runs in four matches at a remarkable average of 118, including three half-centuries. The 21-year-old is the only batter to cross the 200-run mark in the series.

Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh also made significant progress, climbing seven places to joint 20th in the updated batting rankings after her unbeaten 40 in the fourth T20I in Thiruvananthapuram.

New achievement

Australia’s Beth Mooney retained the top spot in the batting rankings with 794 rating points, followed by West Indies captain Hayley Matthews with 774 points. India’s Smriti Mandhana, who recently became the first Indian woman to cross 10,000 international runs during the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka, occupies third place with 767 points.

In the bowling rankings, Indian pacer Renuka Singh and spinner Shree Charani registered notable gains. Renuka moved up eight places to joint sixth after claiming a four-wicket haul in the third T20I, while left-arm spinner Charani climbed 17 spots to reach 52nd, having taken four wickets in the series so far.

Deepti Sharma maintained her No. 1 position in the bowling rankings with 738 rating points. The experienced all-rounder is also on the brink of history, needing just one more wicket in the fifth T20I to become the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20I cricket. She is currently tied with Australia’s Megan Schutt, with both bowlers having 151 wickets.

In the ICC Women’s T20I all-rounder rankings, Hayley Matthews leads with 505 rating points, followed by New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr on 434. Deepti Sharma is placed third with 387 rating points.