Dubai, 30 Dec

India opener Shafali Verma has moved up to sixth place in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20I Player Rankings after a run of impressive half-centuries against Sri Lanka.

The 21-year-old, a former top-ranked batter, jumped four places following scores of 69 not out off 34 balls in the second T20I, and unbeaten knocks of 79 off 42 balls and 79 off 46 balls in the third and fourth matches in Thiruvananthapuram.

India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana retained her third position after ending a lean patch with a fluent 80 in the fourth T20I, while Jemimah Rodrigues slipped one place to 10th.

In the bowling rankings, seasoned all-rounder Deepti Sharma continued to hold the top spot, with compatriot Renuka Singh Thakur breaking into the top 10. Thakur climbed eight places to joint sixth after a match-winning spell of four for 21 in the third T20I, which India won by eight wickets to seal the series.

India’s left-arm spinners Shree Charani and Vaishnavi Sharma also made notable gains as the hosts took a 4–0 lead in the five-match series. Charani rose 17 places to 52nd among bowlers, while Vaishnavi surged 390 places to 124th in her first international series.

For Sri Lanka, left-handed opener Hasini Perera advanced 114 places to 71st among batters after scores of 22, 25 and 33, while Kavisha Dilhari climbed three places to 79th.

The rankings update comes as teams begin shaping their squads ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held in England and Wales from  12 June to  5 July.