India’s Deepti Sharma and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt have claimed the top positions in the latest ICC Women’s Player Rankings. Deepti now leads the T20I bowlers list after her standout performance in India’s series against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Wolvaardt has regained the No. 1 rank in the ODI batters list, previously held by India’s Smriti Mandhana.
Deepti’s recent performance, where she took 1-20 in four overs against Sri Lanka, propelled her to the top spot in the T20I bowling rankings, surpassing Australia’s Annabel Sutherland. She now holds a narrow one-point lead over her Australian counterpart. Additionally, her teammate Arundhati Reddy also climbed in the T20I bowlers rankings after the Sri Lanka series.
Jemimah Rodrigues, another Indian player, made significant progress in the T20I batters list, moving up to ninth place after scoring an unbeaten half-century against Sri Lanka. She joins Mandhana and Shafali Verma in the top 10 rankings. However, Mandhana slipped to second place in the ODI batters list as Wolvaardt reclaimed the top spot with a century in South Africa’s series against Ireland.
Wolvaardt’s exceptional performance, including centuries in the last two matches against Ireland, led South Africa to a 3-0 series win. Her consistent display elevated her to a career-high rating, surpassing Mandhana. Sune Luus from South Africa also made significant progress, climbing in both the ODI batters and all-rounders rankings due to her impactful performances against Ireland. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, and Amy Hunter also saw improvements in their respective rankings.
