India’s rising star spinner Shree Charani has become the new No.1 bowler in T20I cricket after a string of impressive performances in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England. Charani has been one of India’s star performers in the tournament and has taken 10 wickets in only three matches. Her latest 3/24 in India’s first loss in the World Cup to South Africa saw her dethrone Linsey Smith from the top of the rankings.
Charani jumped one place from second to the top as Smith dropped two down to third after the left-arm spinner picked up only three wickets in three outings for England. Off-spinner Charlie Dean is up one spot from third.
Charani’s dominant performances the biggest highlight
Charani has been the standout performer for India in the ongoing tournament. She is the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup with 10 strikes. Charani also equalled the record for most wickets taken by an Indian bowler in a single World Cup edition, levelling the record held by Poonam Yadav’s tally from the 2020 World Cup.
The Delhi Capitals spinner started the tournament with a 3/21, having played second fiddle to Deepti Sharma’s five-wicket haul. Charani was instrumental with the ball in the clash against the Netherlands when she picked up 4/19 in the team’s big win. She put up another strong performance in the South Africa game, taking 3/24, although the Women in Blue failed to defend 158 against the Proteas side.
Major changes in the top 10 rankings
The T20I bowlers’ rankings saw several other changes as England spinner Sophie Ecclestone jumped four spots to reach No.4, while Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal scaled two in a major overhaul in the top 10. Lauren Bell dropped four spots to seventh, while Deepti lost three in the latest rankings.
In the Women T20I all-rounders’ rankings, Chamari Athapaththu scaled one place to go above Deepti, while Ireland’s Orla Prendergast and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana jumped one spot each.ย Proteas star Marizanne Kapp jumped five places to reach No.9 in the all-rounders’ tally after her brilliant performances with the bat and the ball against India. The veteran all-rounder picked 2/17 and then scored a match-winning and unbeaten 81 to power the team home.
ALSO READ |ย Shree Charani becomes third youngest Indian to achieve unique feat with four-fer against Netherlands