Securing a record eighth Women's Asia Cup crown has translated into significant advancements for Indian cricketers in the latest ICC Women's T20 International rankings. Decisive contributions during the tournament in the United Arab Emirates, capped by a commanding showing in the final against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium, reshaped multiple individual ladders. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani fortified her position atop the bowling charts, while opening batter Shafali Verma engineered a decisive return to the top six.
Shree Charani Rewrites Indian Cricket History
Charani produced a match-winning spell of 4 for 20 against Sri Lanka in the title decider, and that clinical performance yielded historic rewards in the ranking metrics. Breaking through the 800-point barrier for the first time in her career, she advanced to 804 rating points to establish a new benchmark in Indian cricket.
The 804-point tally stands as the highest rating ever secured by an Indian woman cricketer in ICC T20 rankings history, eclipsing the previous mark of 780 points set by Mithali Raj back in 2011. Furthermore, Charani now sits merely two points adrift of the all-time global bowling rating peak in Women's T20 Internationals, an accolade held by Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt since November 2018 when she attained 806 points.
All-Round Bowling Gains Across the Indian Attack
The collective discipline of the bowling unit delivered broad benefits across the official charts. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma, who finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps, climbed four rungs to claim the world number two ranking behind Charani. This elevation secures the top two global spots for India's bowling attack.
Supporting bowlers also made substantial progress. Pacer Nandani Sharma was rewarded for her exceptional control throughout the campaign, where she maintained an economy rate of only 4.64 runs per over, leaping 10 places to settle at 94th. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Prema Rawat registered one of the sharpest ascents in the update, rocketing up 50 positions to break into the top 100 at 96th.
Shafali Verma Advances Among Batters and All-Rounders
Top-order batter Shafali Verma reaped major benefits after finishing as the competition's highest run-getter with an aggregate of 236 runs. Her run accumulation featured critical knocks in the knockout rounds, headlined by an innings of 64 in the semi-final followed by 68 in the final. These efforts lifted her from seventh to sixth position.
With 741 rating points, Verma registered her highest standing since October 2021. She now trails teammate Smriti Mandhana by just one place and four rating points; Mandhana sits in fifth spot with 745 points after scoring 213 runs across five innings in the tournament. In addition to her batting climb, Verma rose five spots in the all-rounder category to land at 15th with a career-best 221 rating points.
Key Sri Lankan Contributors Move Up
Finalists Sri Lanka also registered positive movement across individual tables. Middle-order batter Nilakshika Silva concluded the event as the third-highest run-scorer with 108 runs, enabling her to edge up one spot to 44th in the batting hierarchy.
Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu made significant inroads with her bowling performances across the competition. Beyond finishing with 12 total wickets, her campaign included a remarkable haul of 7 wickets for 5 runs against Indonesia. The spell powered her up one position to 27th among bowlers, while she preserved her world number three ranking on the all-rounders chart.
