Best of the best: 10 records set to be broken at the Women’s T20 World Cup

Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Stafanie Taylor, Sophie Devine and Harmanpreet Kaur are some of the many big names who are on verge of shattering a host of records at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

With the tournament just days away from commencing, we take a look at various milestones and records the players are most likely to achieve over the course of 17 days of thrilling action.

Note: players named in the T20 World Cup 2022 squads are in bold

Suzie Bates, the star New Zealand batter is on verge of becoming the first batter to 1,000 runs in Women’s T20 World Cup history, with former West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor and Australia skipper Meg Lanning too, closing in on the record.

Among the top 10 run-scorers, former India captain Mithali Raj boasts the best average at 40.33, while Alyssa Healy tops the strike-rate at an impressive 131.92.

Star Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry currently holds the record for most matches in Women’s T20 World Cup history (36), closely followed by Meg Lanning (34) and Suzie Bates (32). Ellyse Perry also has a chance to surpass Rohit Sharma’s record of 39 for most matches played in T20 World Cups (male or female).

Meg Lanning is one short of surpassing former England great Charlotte Edwards for most matches as a captain at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. With 705 runs at 41.47, she is also 63 runs away from topping the run-scoring charts as the skipper, a record currently held by Edwards (768 runs at 36.57).

Lanning led Australia to T20 World Cup wins in 2014, 2018 and 2020, and now has a chance to become the first captain - male or female - to achieve a hat-trick of three T20 World Cup titles on the trot.

Former England quick Anya Shrubsole holds the record for most wickets in Women’s T20 World Cups, with 41 scalps at 12.48. Ellyse Perry, South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail, Stafanie Taylor and Megan Schutt are in line to surpass that at the upcoming event.

During the inaugural edition of the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa recently, Shafali Verma, who led India Under-19 to the title, became the first player to feature in both junior and the senior competition, having starred in India’s runners-up finish at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Verma’s teammate Richa Ghosh, Fran Jonas and Georgia Plimmer from New Zealand, Shorna Akter, Disha Biswas and Marufa Akter from Bangladesh and Amy Hunter and Georgina Dempsey from Ireland - all of whom featured at the Under-19 event recently and are a part of the senior squad currently - have a chance to match that feat at the upcoming tournament.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is on verge of becoming the first ever cricketer - male or female - to 150 T20I appearances. Harmanpreet is only behind India Men’s captain Rohit Sharma currently, who has played 148 T20Is to date. With the Men’s team having already played the last T20I of the ongoing home season, Harmanpreet is primed to be the first to the milestone.

Suzie Bates is the leading run-scorer in Women’s T20I currently, with Meg Lanning, Stafanie Taylor, Sophie Devine and Harmanpreet Kaur rounding off the top-five. Devine and Kaur are approaching 3,000 runs in the format, while India opener Smriti Mandhana, the third-ranked batter in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Rankings, has a chance to surpass Deandra Dottin.

Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof is 45 runs away from overtaking Charlotte Edwards’ tally of 2,605 T20I runs, while Alyssa Healy and Danni Wyatt too, are close to breaking into the top 10.

Pakistan off-spinner Nida Dar is five wickets away from becoming the leading wicket taker in Women’s T20Is, a chart led by West Indies’ Anisa Mohammed currently with 125 scalps. Remarkably, Dar’s economy of 5.42 is the best among the top 15 wicket-takers in the format. Perry too, is closing in on the milestone with 119 wickets to her name.

Stafanie Taylor is two wickets away from 100 T20I scalps while Deepti Sharma, who is ranked second in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Rankings for bowlers as well as all-rounders, is four short of the landmark.

Meg Lanning is six matches away from becoming the first ever cricketer - male or female - to captain in 100 T20Is. She’d be able to break the record only during the competition only if Australia make it to the final, for which the No.1 ranked team may be given a fair chance considering their team combination, form and history.

Lanning has led Australia in 94 T20Is to date - a record - with the team having won 70 of those matches. Her staggering win-percentage of 74.46 percent is the best among players who have captained in at least 35 T20Is.

Stafanie Taylor and Sophie Devine are in the race to become the first ever cricketer - male or female - to achieve a double of 3,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is. Taylor, the third-highest run-scorer in the format (3,121) is two wickets away from achieving the mark, while Devine, who already has 110 wickets, needs further 50 runs to complete an enviable double.

As for men’s T20Is, Shakib Al Hasan is the only cricketer to achieve a double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets to date.