Indian women cricket stars attain career-best numbers in ICC T20I Player ranking

A number of Indian stars currently representing the nation at the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa have made a mark on the latest ICC T20I Player rankings list. Richa Ghosh and Renuka Thakur are among the Indian players who have gained significantly in the ICC rankings. Ghosh, who played three superb knocks in the ongoing tournament, has attained a career-best number of 20 in the Women's T20I batting rankings.  

She has now become the fifth Indian to enter the top 20 of the ICC Women's T20I batting rankings. Smriti Mandhana (3) is the highest-ranked Indian on the list, followed by Shafali Verma (10), Jemimah Rodrigues (12), and Harmanpreet Kaur (13). Ghosh has been in outstanding form at the Women's T20 World Cup, contributing with unbeaten scores of 31, 44, and 47 before a failure against Ireland on Monday. 

Renuka Thakur enters top 5 of bowling rankings

Indian pace sensation Renuka Thakur, on the other hand, has moved seven places up to the 5th position in the ICC Women's T20I bowling rankings. She has joined her compatriot Deepti Sharma (4) in the top 5 of the Women's T20I bowling rankings. Thakur's performance against England in their group-stage match of the T20 World Cup helped her gain in the latest rankings. She picked up a five-wicket haul in the match. 

Australian skipper Meg Lanning also moved one place up to the fourth position in the batting rankings thanks to her unbeaten 48-run knock against Bangladesh. New Zealand captain Suzie Bates has moved up two places to sixth after registering scores of 81 and 56 against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, respectively. Kiwi Lea Tahuhu has moved up three places to seventh in the bowling rankings. 

The ICC released its latest rankings on Tuesday, and the top 10 saw significant changes. Despite this, Tahlia McGrath of Australia and Sophie Ecclestone of England maintained their substantial leads in their respective categories. Ashleigh Gardner, also of Australia, continued to hold a significant lead in the all-rounder rankings, with Hayley Matthews moving up one spot to second place. India's Deepti Sharma and Kerr are tied for third place, making them Gardner's closest challengers.

Image: Twitter/BCCIWomen