Deepti Sharma climbs to second place in the ICC women’s T20 rankings
Star all-rounder Deepti Sharma has moved up to second place in the T20I bowling rankings, which were revealed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, providing another significant boost for women’s cricket in India.
According to the rankings, she is only 26 points behind Sophie Ecclestone of England, who is now in first place. Sharma has 737 while Ecclestone has 763. It should be mentioned that Sharma now holds the top spot on the list of wicket-takers in the tri-series being played in South Africa with nine wickets.
Nonkululeko Mlaba of South Africa, a spinner, is in third place with 732 points. Sharma and Mlaba are competing for the top spot in the shortest version of the competition because the points in the top three spots are so close.
Along with Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s ranking as a spinner has also risen. She has advanced to rank 14 from previous position 18, which was 18. Similarly, English fast bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt grabbed sixth place while Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt rose from sixth to fifth.
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The ICC recently revealed the women’s team for the ODI format in 2022. Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Singh were both named to the squad by the international cricket governing body, who also named Harmanpreet Kaur as captain.
Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav, all atar players for India, were part of the men’s T20 team that the ICC also named for 2022, while Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana were also a part of the women’s team.
With the help of two half-centuries, Hardik Pandya amassed 607 runs in 2022 with a strike rate of 145.91, matching the total of 781 runs scored by former Indian captain Virat Kohli the previous year at a staggering pace of 138.23. Along with his 20 wickets, the all-rounder had a respectable economy of 8.50.
Mandhana also had a strike rate of 133.48 while he played the entire year, scoring 594 runs.