Shafali Verma regains top spot among batters in ICC T20 ranking

Dubai, January 25

India’s teen sensation Shafali Verma on Tuesday moved up one place to regain her position at the top of the ICC Women’s T20I rankings for batters while her opening partner Smriti Mandhana dropped a spot to fourth.

The Australian duo of Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning occupied the second and third positions in the rankings respectively. Another Australian, Alyssa Healy, featured in the sixth place.

New Zealand also have two representatives in the top 10, with Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates managing to hold on to their fifth and seventh positions respectively.

Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu gained six positions to break into the top 10 after a superb performance in the Commonwealth Games Qualifiers, where she amassed 221 runs at an outstanding average and strike-rate of 55.25 and 185.71 respectively.

Athapathu was sitting in eighth place in the rankings.

England’s Danni Wyatt also rose three places to 13th after her superb knock of 70 against Australia in the first T20I of the Women’s Ashes recently while Australia’s Tahlia McGrath gained 29 places in the rankings to rise up to 28th. McGrath remained unbeaten on 91 off just 49 deliveries to chase down a target of 170 against England in Adelaide.

In the bowler’s rankings, the top three remained unchanged with England’s Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn occupying the first and second spots respectively while the third place stayed with South Africa’s Shabnim Isnmail.

India’s Deepti Sharma gained one position to displace Australia’s Megan Schutt from the fourth place.

The all-rounders’ rankings didn’t see much change either with Sophie Devine and Natalie Sciver holding on to their first and second places respectively.

Deepti Sharma again gained one place to third. Pakistan’s Nida Dar and Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham also climbed up two places to the ninth and 10th positions, respectively, while Australia’s Ellyse Perry went down four positions to go out of the top 10.