Kranti Gaud has moved up 9 places to 43rd in the ICC Women's T20I bowling rankings. She took a wicket in each of India's three T20I wins over Zimbabwe in Raipur. In the same update on 20 October 2026, left-arm spinner Shree Charani stayed world No. 1, Deepti Sharma stayed No. 2, and Nandani Sharma made the biggest jump of the week, 26 places to 45th.
Gaud is also in the news today because India began their ODI series against Zimbabwe at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, on 23 October. Both Gaud and Charani were in the predicted XI. Below you'll find each player's spot, the spells that moved them, and short profiles of the two 2025 debutants who are now central to India's attack.
ICC Women's T20I rankings: where the Indian bowlers stand
Here's how the Indian bowlers in the 20 October update look:
| Player | Position | Movement | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shree Charani | 1 | Unchanged | Set a record 817 rating points in September 2026, the highest ever in this table |
| Deepti Sharma | 2 | Unchanged | Still in the top two |
| Kranti Gaud | 43 | Up 9 | A wicket in all three T20Is vs Zimbabwe |
| Nandani Sharma | 45 | Up 26 | Biggest Indian climber of the week |
A note on points: Charani's 817 is her record peak from September. Current rating points for each player weren't in the reports we checked, so we haven't guessed them. You can see the live figures on the ICC rankings page.
A note on timing: The rankings came out on 20 October, the same day as the third T20I. Depending on the ICC's cut-off, some of that final match may only show up in next week's table. That means Gaud and Nandani could move again.
Kranti Gaud's ranking jump: the Zimbabwe spells behind it
India won the T20I series 3-0 in Raipur, and Gaud took a wicket in every game. These were tidy spells rather than big hauls, and that kind of steady return is what moves a bowler up the rankings.
| Match | Kranti Gaud's figures | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | 1/16 (2 overs) | India won by 4 wickets |
| 2nd T20I | 1/15 (4 overs) | India won by 9 wickets |
| 3rd T20I (20 Oct) | 1/19 (3 overs) | India won, completing a 3-0 sweep |
| Series total | 3/50 (9 overs) | Economy about 5.56 |
The 2nd-over spell in the first T20I and the full four in the second show how India used her: early with the new ball, to stop Zimbabwe getting a start. Conceding barely more than five an over in T20 cricket is very good. It also fits her ODI record of under six an over.
The second T20I was the one-sided game, a 9-wicket win. Shafali Verma's fifty did most of the work with the bat. We covered that innings in our story on Shafali Verma's 55 in the 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe.
Shree Charani stays world No. 1
Charani is the main story at the top of the table. The left-arm spinner from Andhra Pradesh reached 817 rating points in September 2026, the highest total ever in the women's T20I bowling rankings. She still held No. 1 after the Zimbabwe series.
Her exact figures from the Raipur T20Is weren't clearly reported in the sources we checked. One listing even gave her last T20I as a Sri Lanka game on 22 September, which doesn't match the Zimbabwe series. We'll add her spells once the official scorecards confirm them. The ranking itself has been confirmed by two separate reports of the 20 October update.
Deepti Sharma holds No. 2
Deepti Sharma stays second, so India hold the top two spots in the T20I bowling table. One is an established off-spinning all-rounder and the other a 22-year-old left-arm spinner. Few teams have ever had spin depth like that at the top of the rankings.
Nandani Sharma's 26-place leap
Nandani Sharma made the biggest move of the week, up 26 places to 45th. That puts her just behind Gaud. A jump that size usually comes from a bowler who hadn't played many recent T20Is getting a full series and picking up wickets. Her match-by-match figures weren't in the sources we checked, so look at the scorecards for the details.
Who is Kranti Gaud?
Kranti Gaud (sometimes spelled Kranti Goud) is a right-arm medium-fast bowler. She was born on 11 August 2003 in Ghuwara, Madhya Pradesh, and plays domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh. She's 23, and in about 18 months she has gone from a small village to a World Cup winner.
Kranti Gaud career highlights
- WPL: UP Warriorz bought her for ₹10 lakh at the December 2024 auction. Her first WPL wicket was Meg Lanning, bowled, on 22 February 2025. She's the second-youngest player to take a four-wicket haul in the WPL.
- International debuts: ODI on 11 May 2025 against Sri Lanka in a tri-series final. T20I on 12 July 2025 against England.
- Record five-for: She took 6/52 against England at Chester-le-Street in 2025. At 21 years and 345 days, that made her the youngest Indian woman to take an ODI five-wicket haul, beating Jhulan Goswami's record.
- 2025 World Cup: Player of the Match against Pakistan in Colombo on 5 October 2025, with 3 wickets in an 88-run win. India went on to win the title.
- ODI record (pre-series): 25 wickets in 17 matches, economy under 6, best of 6/52.
Kranti Gaud's 2026 so far
No profile we found puts her whole year together, so here it is in one place:
- Lord's Test vs England (reported July 2026): 5/37 in the first innings. She was the first woman to take a Test five-for at Lord's and get her name on the honours board. She added two more wickets in the second innings. India won by 270 runs and she was named Player of the Match.
- Asian Games gold at Aichi–Nagoya.
- Women's Asia Cup title in the UAE.
- The Asia Cup final fine (13 September, Dubai): After dismissing Sri Lanka's Imesha Dulani for 4, she gestured toward the dressing room. The ICC fined her 10% of her match fee and gave her one demerit point under Article 2.5 of its Code of Conduct. It was her first offence in 24 months. India also skipped the post-match presentation, but reports say that was a separate trophy dispute and had nothing to do with her fine.
- Zimbabwe T20Is in Raipur: 3 wickets in 9 overs, a 3-0 series win, and the 9-place jump to 43rd.
Sources disagree on the date of her Test debut. One gives 6 March 2026 against Australia, while others treat the Lord's Test as the important one, so we haven't stated a debut date here.
Who is Shree Charani?
Shree Charani is a left-arm spinner, born on 4 August 2004 in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. She plays domestic cricket for Andhra, and Delhi Capitals bought her for ₹55 lakh in the WPL. If you follow auction prices, our WPL 2027 auction list with base prices and purses shows how far Indian players' values have risen since then.
- ODI debut: 27 April 2025 vs Sri Lanka.
- T20I debut: 28 June 2025 vs England, where she took 4 wickets.
- ODI record: 27 wickets in 21 matches at an economy of 5.68.
- Titles: 2025 World Cup, 2026 Asian Games gold, 2026 Women's Asia Cup.
- Ranking: World No. 1 T20I bowler, with a record 817 rating points in September 2026.
Why Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani get searched together
They have a lot in common. They're about a year apart in age, both made their international debuts in 2025, and both won the World Cup, the Asian Games and the Asia Cup. Both were in today's predicted XI in Vadodara. Charani controls the middle overs with spin and Gaud takes the new ball, so between them they cover two very different jobs in the attack.
What's next: the India vs Zimbabwe ODI series
The T20Is are done, and the three-match ODI series is under way:
- 1st ODI: 23 October, BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara. The toss was at 1:30 PM IST and play started at 2:00 PM. We hadn't seen a scorecard when we published, so check ESPNcricinfo or BCCI.tv for Gaud's figures from today.
- 2nd ODI: 25 October, Vadodara.
- Squad change: Renuka Thakur has been ruled out of the series and Jintimani Kalita replaces her. That makes Gaud India's lead seamer for the ODIs.
- Where to watch: Star Sports, DD Sports and JioHotstar. One source also lists FanCode.
The ODIs don't change the T20I rankings, but they do count for the ODI table. Gaud already has 25 ODI wickets, and with Renuka out she gets the new ball, so a strong week could lift her ODI ranking too.
The captaincy backdrop
This tour is Smriti Mandhana's first series since the BCCI named her full-time captain on 6 October, after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down. Harmanpreet is still in the side as a player. Reports differ on whether Mandhana's role covers only white-ball cricket or all formats. The series is being called the start of India's next World Cup cycle, and young bowlers like Gaud, Charani and Nandani Sharma are a big part of those plans.
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