Indians take control of ICC rankings as Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh leapfrog significant contemporaries

The shores of women’s cricket have started evolving emphatically in the past few years and what lies ahead is nothing but promise as the heads have started to turn, thanks to a host of dominant performances and some imperative steps taken by the apex cricketing authorities of the various nations.

As women’s cricket take the fore in India too through the ever-glistening inaugural edition of the WPL, the Indian women secured ginormous leaps in the latest rankings released by ICC.

If the hallowed quartet of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez and Harmanpreet Kaur weren’t really enough to brag about names in the top 20, now India can boast about the fifth and the latest addition to this illustrious list as hard-hitting wicket-keeper, Richa Ghosh seized control of the 20^th spot after a fabulous display in the first three games of the ongoing Women’s World T20.

Ghosh showed exemplary control in the opening fixture of the World Cup where she stabilized the Indian ship to allow Jemimah run away with the chase followed by a well-played 44 from just 32 balls to help India cross the line against West Indies. The aforementioned knocks were more than enough to earn Richa 16 spots in order to bag that hallowed 20^th.

Not only was it Richa who gained significant leaps in the points table but Amelia Kerr was in prime form against Sri Lanka that gained her the 3^rd spot in the all-rounders’ rankings. Another significant leap for the Indians featured Renuka Singh bagging the fifth spot in the world rankings after a thumping fifer against England despite the effort ending in vain.

Barring Richa and Renuka, the other Indians who are still the predominant forces in the ICC rankings features the likes of Smriti Mandhana in the 3^rd spot in women’s batting, Shafali Verma in the tenth, Jemimah Rodrigues in the 12^th while Harmanpreet the skip in the 13^th position. India will have to brave Australia in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup if they are to have a shy at the hallowed silverware before WPL comes knocking on the door.