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Mlaba closes in on Deepti Sharma, Sutherland in ICC T20I rankings after Ireland show

Aakash Saini

Nonkululeko Mlaba and Deepti Sharma [Source: @ICC/x]Nonkululeko Mlaba and Deepti Sharma [Source: @ICC/x]

South African spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba is closing on India and Australia women’s all-rounders, Deepti Sharma and Annabel Sutherland on the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers. The 25-year-old recently delivered twin match-winning spells for South Africa in Cape Town and Paarl against Ireland.

Mlaba’s recent wicket-spree helped her gain four rungs on the latest ICC T20I bowling charts to jump to number six on the rankings. In a single go, she surpassed Pakistan’s Nashra Sundhu, West Indies’ Afy Fletcher, England’s Charlie Dean and Australia’s Georgia Wareham as each of the four aforementioned bowlers lost a rung each to cap the top 10 rankings.

Nonkululeko Mlaba motor towards number one ICC rankings

South African spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who played a key role in her team reaching the final of the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in India last month, has successfully translated her recent success to T20I cricket. Going up against Ireland in Cape Town a week ago, the cricketer picked up two wickets at an expense of just nine runs from her three overs as South Africa secured a comprehensive 105-run win.

In the follow-up in Paarl on December 7, Nonkululeko Mlaba knocked over Ireland’s well-set batter Leah Paul as the Protes Women took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. With three wickets in just two innings, Mlaba has jumped from number 10 to number six on the latest ICC T20I bowling charts for women, surpassing Nashra Sandhu, Afy Fletcher, Charlie Dean and Georgia Wareham at a single go.

With 705 rating points, the 25-year-old is currently trailing England’s Lauren Bell, Sophie Ecclestone, Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal, India’s 2025 World Cup winner Deepti Sharma and Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland.

With a game still remaining in the series against Ireland, Nonkululeko Mlaba might well get closer to Deepti Sharma (732 points) and number one ranked Sutherland (736 points) on the latest ICC charts.

The third and final T20I between South Africa Women and Ireland Women will be hosted by Benoni on Wednesday, December 10.