After the conclusion of the England vs Australia and India vs Bangladesh ODI series’, the ICC has released the updated Women’s ODI Player Rankings. England star batter Natalie Sciver-Brunt has become the No. 1 batter in the ICC Rankings for the first time in her career after her glorious match-winning century in the final ODI against Australia in Taunton on July 18. Meanwhile, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur moved down two spots to number 8 after making just 71 runs in three innings.
However, the bigger issue for Harmanpreet isn’t her slipping down two spots but a potential ban of two matches for breaking the ICC Players’ Code of Conduct for smashing the stumps with her bat, questioning the umpire’s decisions throughout the series, and suggesting that the Bangladesh team drew the series with the help of the umpiring.
The last two matches of the India Women’s Tour of Bangladesh, which was a part of the ICC Women’s Championship, saw Bangladesh players Fargana Hoque and Nahida Akter reach new heights.
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Fargana’s 565 rating points are the highest by a Bangladesh woman batter, and she is the first from her country to break into the top 20 (19th position) after scoring 107 in the tied final ODI in Mirpur. The previous best was Rumana Ahmed’s 25th position in February 2017.
Left-arm spinner Nahida’s figures of three for 37 in the final ODI have helped her move up to the 19th position in the bowling rankings. The previous best by a Bangladesh bowler was the 20th position reached by Salma Khatun in December 2022.
India’s Harleen Deol, named ‘player of the match’ in the final ODI after she top-scored for her team with 77 runs, has advanced 32 places to reach 51st position, while Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored a match-winning 86 in the second ODI, is up 41 places to 55th. Deepti Sharma is in the top 10 for bowlers, while Sneh Rana is up three places to 38th. Vice-captain Smirti Mandhana also moved one spot to 6, overtaking captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s spot.
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