Sadia Iqbal and Deepti Sharma [Source: X]Pakistan women's star spinner Sadia Iqbal has reclaimed her spot as the world’s number one T20I bowler in the latest ICC Women's Player Rankings. Notably, Sadia Iqbal overtook India’s Deepti Sharma and Australia pacer Annabel Sutherland to move back to the top position. Iqbal earned her place after an impressive performance in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against South Africa. Sadia Iqbal has moved up two spots with an ICC rating of 743, while her career-best rating came against Sri Lanka in 2024, when she achieved 758 rating points. Sadia Iqbal Topples Deepti Sharma In ICC Rankings India Women player Deepti Sharma, meanwhile, has slipped down a place to rank second with 729 rating points, while Annabel Sutherland has dropped to third with 721 points after Iqbal’s rise. Sophie Ecclestone has overtaken Sutherland to move into the third spot with 727 rating points. Sadia Iqbal’s return to the top was driven by her consistent performances in the Pakistan-South Africa series. She picked up five wickets from three matches at an economy rate of 5.82. Her best figures were 3 for 18 in the February 16 match against South Africa, which played a key role in restricting the opposition while chasing Pakistan’s total of 145. Iqbal’s crucial wickets of Lara Goodall, Dane van Niekerk, and Nonkululeko Mlaba dented South Africa’s hopes as they were bowled out for 91 in 16.5 overs. Sadia Iqbal’s Golden Phase With The Ball Ahead of the South Africa series in the Women’s World Cup 2025, Sadia was also among Pakistan’s leading wicket-takers, claiming eight wickets from five matches while maintaining a tight economy rate of 4.47. Her best figures in that tournament were 3 for 63, and she went wicketless in only one match, against Bangladesh. Iqbal, who has been a key player for Pakistan since 2019, has featured in 53 T20Is and taken 67 wickets at an average of 17.61. She first reached the top spot in the T20I bowling rankings towards the end of 2024 and enjoyed a stint at number one before Sutherland replaced her. Fatima Sana Rises Up The Ranks Adding to Pakistan’s achievements, captain Fatima Sana has also risen 31 places to joint 28th in the T20I batters’ rankings and climbed five spots to sixth among T20I all-rounders. Fatima Sana’s rise follows her Player of the Match performance in the series finale against South Africa, where she scored an unbeaten 47 off 30 deliveries to help Pakistan post a competitive total. Meanwhile, Sadia Iqbal also boasts 44 wickets from her 36 appearances in women’s ODIs, with best figures of 4 for 13 and an average of 25.22. She has been highly economical in ODI cricket as well, maintaining an impressive economy rate of 3.86 and a strike rate of 39.1. Pakistan Women To Next Face India Women After her performance against South Africa, Sadia is next set to feature in the February 22 match, where Pakistan will face South Africa in Bloemfontein for the first ODI of the three-match series. Notably, this will also be Pakistan Women’s last bilateral series ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, where they will begin their campaign against India Women on June 14, 2026. Meanwhile, there have also been gains for India Women following their opening game of the T20I series in Australia. Renuka Singh has moved up six places to fifth, while Arundhati Reddy and Shree Charani have also climbed the rankings in the women’s T20I bowler standings.
