Laura Wolvaardt has reclaimed the No.1 position among ICC Women’s ODI batters, displacing India captain Smriti Mandhana after the latter’s lean returns against Zimbabwe.
Yet the latest rankings update remains a resounding endorsement of India’s white-ball strength, with Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma among the biggest gainers following India’s 3-0 T20I and 3-0 ODI whitewashes over Zimbabwe in Raipur and Vadodara from 16 to 28 October. Australia’s 2-0 T20I series win over New Zealand, with the third match washed out, has also reshaped the T20I landscape.
ODI Rankings: Wolvaardt Returns to the Summit
Laura Wolvaardt’s return to the top came after Mandhana lost valuable points for scores of 32 and zero in India’s ODI series against Zimbabwe. The South African captain’s regained ascendancy underscores how quickly the battle at the summit of women’s ODI batting can shift, even during a series in which India otherwise dominated.
India’s middle order provided the update’s most striking movement. Harmanpreet Kaur climbed two places to eighth among ODI batters after her century in the second match, while Deepti Sharma’s own hundred helped her rise four spots to 23rd. Deepti’s all-round impact was reflected across the lists: she moved up two rungs to fourth among ODI all-rounders and one place to eighth among ODI bowlers.
Pratika Rawal earned a career-best ranking, advancing seven places to 21st among ODI batters. Kranti Gaud also progressed, rising two spots to 25th among ODI bowlers, while Shafali Verma climbed 15 places to 73rd with 368 points after finishing as the series’ third-highest run-scorer with 123 runs at a strike rate of 183.58, including two fifties and three unbeaten innings. Zimbabwe’s batters also made meaningful progress despite the whitewash. Modester Mupachikwa rose five places to 39th, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano gained four slots to 47th, and Beloved Biza surged 16 places to 56th among ODI batters. Biza also climbed nine places to 41st among ODI all-rounders on 103 points, while Shree Charani rose five spots to 40th on 107 points.
In the bowling rankings, Charani moved up two places to 21st with 535 points, and Gaud gained two spots to 25th with 489 points. Australia’s Nicola Carey rose four places to 86th with 282 points, while Sophie Molineux climbed two spots to joint-75th among ODI all-rounders on 64 points, level with the UAE’s Samaira Dharnidharka.
T20I Rankings: India’s Openers Close In
India’s T20I success produced immediate rewards at the top of the batting charts. Shafali Verma rose one place to third with 759 points, while Mandhana moved up one spot to fourth with 753 points, keeping the duo firmly among the world’s most influential short-format batters after the series against Zimbabwe.
The gains extended well beyond India’s established stars. Nandani Sharma jumped 13 places to 32nd with 558 points, Kranti Gaud advanced five spots to 38th with 530 points, and Prema Rawat climbed seven places to 95th among T20I bowlers with 359 points. Zimbabwe’s Sharne Mayers rose nine places to 87th with 351 points, while Beloved Biza gained 11 spots to 95th with 324 points in the batting rankings.
Australia’s trans-Tasman series against New Zealand also left its mark. Ellyse Perry climbed two places to 14th among T20I batters with 629 points, while Ashleigh Gardner surged nine spots to 19th. In the bowling rankings, Georgia Wareham rose four places to joint-seventh, and Kim Garth gained five slots to joint-10th, giving Australia considerable depth across the format.
New Zealand were similarly encouraged by their bowlers’ progress. Bree Illing rose six places to 17th, while Nensi Patel leapt 27 spots to joint-96th among T20I all-rounders on 60 points, alongside Ireland’s Aimee Maguire, West Indies’ Zaida James and India’s Harmanpreet Kaur. Illing also climbed eight places to 39th among T20I bowlers with 104 points. Beloved Biza continued her rise by moving up 10 places to joint-37th among T20I all-rounders on 106 points, level with West Indies’ Qiana Joseph. Nandani Sharma gained eight spots to joint-68th with 83 points, alongside Zimbabwe captain Josephine Nkomo. Among T20I bowlers, Nyasha Gwanzura rose four places to joint-73rd with 425 points.
With Wolvaardt back at the ODI summit and India’s depth increasingly visible across both formats, the latest update confirms that women’s cricket’s rankings race is being shaped not only by individual brilliance, but by teams capable of producing match-winners from top to bottom.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.