ICC T20 Rankings: Harmanpreet, Shafali Rise

Dubai, July 23: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and flashy opener Shafali Verma have risen in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings. Sri Lanka spinner Inoshi Priyadharshani has also risen, according to the weekly update conducted on Tuesday.

India’s two batswomen Harmanpreet and Shafali are tied at eleventh position after their performances at the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

Harmanpreet’s scores of five not out against Pakistan and 66 against the United Arab Emirates earned her one spot, while Shafali’s scores of 40 and 37 against the same opponent moved her up four spots, an ICC statement showed.

Sri Lankan off-spinner Priyadharshani has moved up three places to fourth position, his career-best result, after taking two wickets against Bangladesh and one against Malaysia.

Other batsmen who make gains in the latest update based on their performances in the Women’s Asia Cup include Indian wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (up four places to 24th), Bangladesh’s Murshida Khatun (up six places to 47th), Sri Lanka’s Vishmi Gunaratne (up seven places to 51st) and Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham (up ten places to 76th) in the batting rankings.

The bowlers who rise include Bangladesh’s Nahida Akter (up nine places to 21st) and Marufa Akter (up one place to 26th), Sri Lanka’s Udeshika Prabodhani (up four places to 30th) and India’s Shreyanka Patil (up 19 places to 41st).

England captain Heather Knight, who hit a match-winning 46 not out from 31 deliveries in the final match of their five-match series against New Zealand at home, which England won 5-0, is back in the top 20 after winning two slots. New-ball bowler Lauren Bell is another from her team to break into the top 10, moving into the top 10 with a three-wicket haul.

New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr has risen two places to 13th in the batting rankings, while her sister Jess Kerr has risen five places to 42nd in the bowling rankings, the ICC statement said.