Sri Lanka captain closes in on No.1 ranking ahead of T20WC

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has been rewarded for her excellent recent form by making big gains on the latest ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings.

Athapaththu was adjudged Player of the Series during Sri Lanka’s recent 3-0 whitewash over Bangladesh, with the veteran compiling 115 runs from three innings and chipping in with four wickets in an ominous display ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that commences on June 12.

Those efforts saw Athapaththu rise three places to 41st on the latest rankings for T20I bowlers, while the 36-year-old gains two places to jump to third overall on the list for T20I all-rounders.

Athapaththu catapults past India’s Deepti Sharma and Australia’s Ash Gardner on the T20I all-rounder rankings, with New Zealand skipper Melie Kerr and West Indies captain Hayley Matthews now the only two players ahead of the Sri Lanka star.

There is more joy for Sri Lanka as Harshita Samarawickrama (up five rungs to equal 20th) and Imesha Dulani (up 23 spots to 49th) make gains on the rankings for T20I batters, while teammates Kavisha Dilhari (up two slots to 17th) and Malki Madara (up 11 places to 44th) join Athapaththu on making eye-catching improvement on the charts for T20I bowlers.

Bangladesh will be buoyed by the performances of a host of their players despite the series loss, with Sharmin Akhter Supta (up 10 rungs to 37th), Dilara Akter (up five spots to 55th) and Shorna Akter (up 19 places to equal 62nd) all rising the list for T20I batters and Sultana Khatun (up 48 slots to 38th) the big improver for T20I bowlers.

There was also some change on the latest ODI rankings following the first game of the three-match series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Karachi as the hosts opened up a 1-0 series advantage via a whopping 168-run triumph.

Sidra Amin (up three places to 11th) makes gains up the updated rankings for ODI batters, while teammate Sadaf Shamas (up 12 slots to 72nd) also makes ground on the back of her innings of 98 at the top of the order against Zimbabwe.

Nashra Sandhu improves one place to move to 11th on the rankings for ODI bowlers, while skipper Fatima Sana makes up two spots on the same list to move to equal 26th and jumps two rungs to 15th on the rankings for ODI all-rounders.

Source: ICC