Deepti Sharma Becomes World No. 1 T20I Bowler; Laura Wolvaardt Reclaims Top Spot in ODI Batting

India’s Deepti Sharma has climbed to the top of the ICC T20I bowling rankings for the first time in her career, while South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt has reclaimed the No. 1 position among ODI batters following a prolific home series against Ireland.

Deepti rose one place to become the world’s leading T20I bowler after her performance in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam. Her economical spell of 1 for 20 played a key role in India’s victory and earned her five rating points, taking her tally to 737. That moved her just one point clear of Australia’s Annabel Sutherland, who slipped to second after holding the top ranking since August.

India also saw gains in the T20I batting rankings, with Jemimah Rodrigues making a significant jump. Rodrigues climbed five places to reach No. 9 after scoring an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls in the same match against Sri Lanka. She now joins teammates Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma in the top ten, with Mandhana ranked third and Verma tenth among T20I batters.

In the ODI rankings, however, Mandhana ceded the top spot to Wolvaardt, who returned to No. 1 after a dominant performance in South Africa’s 3–0 series win over Ireland. Wolvaardt was the leading run-scorer and was named Player of the Series, amassing 255 runs at an extraordinary average of 127.50.

Her haul included back-to-back centuries: a commanding 124 in the second ODI, where South Africa posted a massive 375, and an unbeaten 100 in the third ODI as the hosts comfortably chased down a target of 206.

The latest rankings update highlights standout performances across formats, with Deepti’s consistency earning her a career-first milestone in T20Is and Wolvaardt’s prolific run-scoring reaffirming her status as one of the premier batters in women’s ODI cricket.