Dubai [UAE], May 5 (ANI): Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has made significant strides in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings, underlining her strong form weeks before the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Athapaththu,36, played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s dominant 3-0 series sweep over Bangladesh, earning Player of the Series honours with 115 runs across three innings while also claiming four wickets. The all-round performance has propelled her up three places to 41st in the T20I bowling rankings, while she climbed two spots to third in the all-rounders’ list.
According to ICC, the Sri Lankan skipper has moved ahead of India’s Deepti Sharma and Australia’s Ash Gardner in the all-rounder standings, with only New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and West Indies captain Hayley Matthews ranked above her.
Sri Lanka’s rise was not limited to their captain. Harshita Samarawickrama advanced five places to joint 20th in the T20I batting rankings, while Imesha Dulani made a notable jump of 23 spots to 49th. Among bowlers, Kavisha Dilhari climbed to 17th, and Malki Madara rose 11 places to 44th.
Despite the series defeat, Bangladesh also saw encouraging individual gains. Sharmin Akhter Supta moved up to 37th, Dilara Akter reached 55th, and Shorna Akter climbed to joint 62nd in the batting rankings. The most significant improvement came from Sultana Khatun, who surged 48 places to 38th among T20I bowlers.
Meanwhile, updates in the ODI rankings followed Pakistan’s emphatic 168-run victory over Zimbabwe in Karachi. Sidra Amin rose to 11th among batters, while Sadaf Shamas gained 12 spots to reach 72nd after her 98-run knock.
In the bowling charts, Nashra Sandhu edged up to 11th, while captain Fatima Sana improved to joint 26th and 15th in the all-rounders’ rankings.
The T20 World Cup will begin on June 12. (ANI)
