Shafali Verma makes BIG move ahead of fifth T20I vs Sri Lanka, set to overtake opening partner Smriti Mandhana, she can become…
Delhi Capitals and Team India opener Shafali Verma has a made a massive move in the middle of the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side is leading the series 4-0 with the fifth and final match set to take place in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Shafali is enjoying a golden run in the T20I series and is the leading run-scorer for India with 236 runs in 5 matches at an average of 118. She has scored of 79, 79 not out and 69 not out in her last three innings. As a result the 21-year-old dasher has made a 4-place jump in the ICC women’s ranking in T20I cricket.
The India opener jumped to sixth place on the updated list for T20I batters on the back of her excellent efforts during the T20I series against Sri Lanka on home soil. Shafali became just the second Indian player behind Mithali Raj to claim the top ranking for T20I batters when she rose to the top back in 2020, but has only just regained her best form in recent times following her ‘Player of the Match’ efforts in last month’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final.
In that match Shafali scored 87 and contributed two wickets as India claimed their maiden 50-over World Cup title and the 21-year-old has transferred that form across to the shortest format with some scintillating knocks across the first four matches of the series with Sri Lanka.
Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma lit up India’s innings with their power-hitting in the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka
: @BCCIWomen #INDvSL : https://t.co/CNXyP5M0YP pic.twitter.com/Faews5hcZJ
— ICC (@ICC) December 28, 2025
Shafali has a trio of half-centuries to her name to be the leading run-scorer for the series and the right-hander now sits just 60 rating points behind top-ranked batted Beth Mooney of Australia. She can potentially move past her opening partner Smriti Mandhana, who is third in the rankings with 767 points behind Mooney and West Indies star Hayley Matthews.
Shafali’s Indian teammate Richa Ghosh is also on the rise on the updated rankings for T20I batters, with the 22-year-old gaining seven places to move to equal 20th overall following an unbeaten innings of 40 not out in the fourth match of the series with Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram.
There is more joy for Indian players on the rankings for T20I bowlers, with in-form duo Renuka Singh and Shree Charani the biggest beneficiaries. Renuka grabbed a four-wicket haul in her return to the side during the third match of the Sri Lanka series and gained eight places to move to equal sixth on the latest list for T20I bowlers as a result.
Left-arm spinner Charani has four wickets through the opening four matches against Sri Lanka and gains 17 places to move to 52nd overall on the rankings for T20I bowlers. Deepti Sharma maintained a narrow lead at the top of the rankings for T20I bowlers, while West Indies star Hayley Matthews hold a large buffer at the top of the list for T20I all-rounders.