Pakistan women’s team spinner Sadia Iqbal briefly became the first Pakistani cricketer to top the ICC player rankings. She overtook English player Sophie Ecclestone for the top position, but could not maintain it for long, as Ecclestone regained her spot by the end of last week.
Ecclestone has held the number one ranking for women’s T20 bowlers since February 2020, but Iqbal dethroned her last week. In the opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka, Iqbal claimed 3 wickets for 17 runs, momentarily tying her with Ecclestone, who later reclaimed the lead.
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The rating gap between the two bowlers is only 8 points, with Ecclestone at 762 and Iqbal at 754. Given her impressive performance this year, where she took 28 wickets in 17 matches, Sadia could potentially reclaim the top spot during the tournament. Former captain Sana Mir is the only other Pakistani woman cricketer to have topped the ICC One Day Player rankings, achieving this in 2018-19.
