Iqbal becomes No. 1 ranked T20I bowler before Ecclestone snatches it back

Sadia Iqbal briefly became the first player from Pakistan to top an ICC women’s T20I player rankings table when she overtook Sophie Ecclestone to become the top-ranked bowler in the world. It didn’t last long, though, as Ecclestone snatched it back by the end of the week when the updates were made public.

Ecclestone has been the top-ranked women’s T20I bowler since February 2020 – and continues to be – but for a few days over the week past, the throne belonged to Iqbal. Iqbal first drew level with Ecclestone after taking 3 for 17 against Sri Lanka in Pakistan’s women’s T20 World Cup opener. Ecclestone, in her first match of the World Cup, returned 0 for 21, and slipped behind Iqbal as a result. But Iqbal then took 1 for 23 against India, and Ecclestone bounced back with a Player-of-the-Match winning 2 for 15 against South Africa to claim the top spot again.

There’s just an eight-point gap (762 and 754) between the two, though, so it’s quite possible that the positions might change again before the World Cup is done.

As such, left-arm spinner Iqbal is having her best year in T20Is. Among all players at the World Cup, she has the most wickets in 2024 – 28 wickets in 17 games. Sana Mir, the former Pakistan captain, is the only other Pakistan woman cricketer to top an ICC player table – she was the top-ranked ODI bowler in 2018-19.

The tussle at the top of the T20I bowlers’ rankings aside, a number of other players have made notable movements as the World Cup has worn on.

Among batters, Suzie Bates’ 27 against against India has lifted her two spots to seventh, while Harmanpreet Kaur is up to 12th, a jump of four spots, after her 15 against New Zealand and 29 (retired hurt) against Pakistan. One of the top performers at the World Cup so far has been Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who has so far hit 41 and 43 against Bangladesh and South Africa, respectively, helping England win both games. That’s lifted her from No. 20 to joint 18th, where she is joined by team-mate Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was 19th last week, after she scored 48 not out in the win over South Africa.

Among bowlers, Megan Schutt has risen nine places to enter the top ten at No. 10 after picking up 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka. Within the top five, Sarah Glenn is up one place to third, behind Ecclestone and Iqbal, after picking up a wicket in each of England’s two games so far. Below her, Ash Gardner is up three places to sixth and Rabeya Khan is up one place to No. 9.

Nonkululeko Mlaba, who set up South Africa’s opening win against West Indies with returns of 4 for 29, and has since picked up 1 for 22 against England, has zoomed up nine spots to 13th.