Sadia Iqbal Tops ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings; Smriti Mandhana Climbs Batter Charts

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the latest updates to the women’s T20I player rankings, with Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal maintaining her position as the world’s number one T20I bowler.

Sadia leads the bowling rankings with a rating of 746 points, narrowly ahead of her competitors in a closely contested top 10, where just 44 points separate the leader from the 10th-ranked player, Afy Fletcher of the West Indies, who holds 702 points.

England’s pacer Lauren Bell rose two spots to a career-best fourth place after taking three wickets in a recent match in Nottingham. Meanwhile, Nashra (ranked 8th) and Australia’s Georgia Wareham (9th) share the same rating of 704 points.

On the batting front, India’s Smriti Mandhana is closing in on the top spot after a magnificent century against England boosted her rating to a new career-high of 771 points. Mandhana climbed one place to third in the T20I batter rankings and is now just 23 points behind leader Beth Mooney.

Indian teammates Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol also made progress, moving to 13th and re-entering at 86th respectively after strong performances in the same series.

South Africa’s Miane Smit made a notable leap from outside the top 100 to 76th following a half-century against the West Indies, while former captain Sune Luus improved nine spots to 31st in the all-rounder rankings after a solid all-round display.

Despite Sadia’s bowling success, no Pakistani batter features in the top 35 of the latest rankings, highlighting an area for growth in the batting department.

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The ICC rankings reflect recent international performances and provide an ongoing benchmark for the world’s top women cricketers as the sport continues to grow globally.