Deepti Sharma, India’s star all-rounder, is on the cusp of making history. She’s just one wicket away from becoming the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20 Internationals. This is a huge milestone. Especially after she recently climbed to the top of the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings.
The fifth and final T20I against Sri Lanka, scheduled for Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram, could be the day she etches her name even deeper into the record books. India already leads the series 4-0. They’re looking for a clean 5-0 sweep. It’d be their third T20I whitewash.
One Wicket Away from History
Sharma is currently tied with Australia’s Megan Schutt, both at 151 wickets in women’s T20Is. Just one more scalp will give her the outright record. And honestly, she’s been pretty consistent. She already became the first-ever Indian cricketer, men’s or women’s, to reach the 150-wicket mark in this format. That was a big deal. Her 151 scalps have come in 132 matches. She dismissed Sri Lanka’s Kavisha Dilhari in the third T20I to hit that 150 milestone.
But wait, there’s more. Deepti Sharma also etched her name in history for another incredible feat. She’s the first cricketer across both men’s and women’s games to register 1000 runs and 150 wickets in T20 Internationals. Pretty amazing, right? Besides her 151 wickets, she’s scored 1,100 runs in T20Is.
She’s got two half-centuries too. In this ongoing series against Sri Lanka, Deepti’s taken 4 wickets so far. That makes her the joint leading wicket-taker for India in the series. Teammates Renuka Singh, Vaishnavi Sharma, and Shree Charani are also level with her. You can read more about her journey towards this record, as NDTV Sports reported.
World No. 1 and All-Round Prowess
It’s been a stellar few weeks for Deepti. She just topped the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings for the first time in her career. The latest rankings came out on Tuesday. Her bowling performance of 1/20 in the opening T20I against Sri Lanka was enough.
It saw her overtake Australia’s fast bowler Annabel Sutherland by one rating point. Deepti now holds 737 rating points in T20I cricket. This format is even set to feature at the LA 2028 Olympics. That’s cricket making a comeback to the Games!
Deepti’s all-round game is really strong. She’s not just a top bowler. She’s currently ranked third in the women’s T20I all-rounder rankings. Only Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr are ahead of her. And she’s been consistent in the shortest format, you know.
Before this series, she had 148 wickets in 130 T20Is. She was even named Player of the Tournament at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. In the 50-over format, she’s ranked fifth among bowlers and fourth among all-rounders. Pretty impressive. The Olympics.com site highlighted her climb to World No. 1.
A Valued Asset Beyond the Pitch
Deepti Sharma isn’t just shining on the international stage. She’s a hot commodity in franchise cricket too. At the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, she commanded the second-biggest price in the league’s history. She’s returning to UP Warriorz for a cool 3.2 crore Indian rupees.
That’s about £272,000. It was just short of the record set by Smriti Mandhana in 2023. Mandhana went for 3.4 crore. This really shows how much she’s valued. Australian captain Alyssa Healy, for example, went unsold at that auction.
Other Indian players are doing well in the rankings too. Smriti Mandhana sits at world No. 3 in T20I batting. Jemimah Rodrigues moved up to ninth. Renuka Singh Thakur, another Indian bowler, is ranked 14th. So India’s women’s team is looking strong. India’s men’s team is also dominating. They’re world No. 1 in T20I team rankings. The women’s team is ranked third. BBC Sport covered the WPL auction, detailing her big signing.
Climbing the All-Time Ranks
Her recent performance in the third T20I wasn’t just about reaching 150 wickets. Her spell of 3/18 also helped her surpass Ellyse Perry in another record. She now has 333 scalps across all women’s international cricket. That puts her third all-time. Perry had 331. Only England’s Katherine Sciver Brunt (335 wickets) and Indian legend Jhulan Goswami (355 wickets) are ahead of her.
Deepti’s record in other formats is solid too. In women’s ODIs, she’s India’s second-best wicket-taker after Jhulan Goswami. She has 162 scalps there. In Tests, she’s taken 20 wickets in just five matches. So, yeah, she’s a really complete player. The stage is set for Tuesday. All eyes will be on Thiruvananthapuram. Can Deepti Sharma get that one crucial wicket? Can India complete their whitewash? It sure seems like she’s ready for it. Ground.news also highlighted her imminent record.
Sagnik Banerjee 
Priyanjan Paul 
Ishaan Singh