Deepti Sharma joins Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana in elite 150-T20I club in Asia Cup opener | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Deepti Sharma reached another landmark in her distinguished international career on Sunday, becoming only the third Indian player to feature in 150 women’s T20Is. The experienced all-rounder achieved the milestone during India’s Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 Group A opener against Thailand in Dubai, joining captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana in an exclusive Indian club.Harmanpreet leads the list with 202 T20I appearances, while Mandhana has played 171. Deepti also became only the 12th woman cricketer overall to reach the 150-match mark in the shortest format.The milestone is another reflection of Deepti’s longevity and importance to India. Before Sunday’s match, she had scored 1,270 runs and taken 168 wickets in 149 T20Is since making her international debut more than a decade ago.
Deepti’s decade of impact
Deepti has established herself as one of the most valuable all-rounders in the Indian setup, capable of changing the course of a match with either bat or ball. Her ability to bowl important overs, contribute runs in the middle and lower order and handle pressure situations has made her a key part of India’s plans across major tournaments.Her record in the Women’s Asia Cup further underlines her impact in the competition. Sunday’s game was her fourth edition of the tournament after making her debut in 2018. She came into the match with 19 Asia Cup appearances, 148 runs and 26 wickets.Her highest score in the tournament is 64, which came against the UAE in 2022, while her best bowling figures are 3/7 against Thailand in the same edition. Deepti has been particularly effective with the ball, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in each of the previous two editions.In 2022, she claimed 13 wickets to finish at the top of the bowling charts, edging Sri Lanka’s Inoka Ranaweera, who also took 13 wickets, on the basis of her superior economy rate and bowling average. Deepti retained the leading-wicket-taker tag in 2024 after taking 10 wickets.With Dubai conditions potentially offering assistance to spinners, her experience could again prove crucial for India as they look to make a strong start to their campaign.
Pratika Rawal handed maiden T20I cap
The Thailand game also marked an important moment for Pratika Rawal, who received her maiden T20I cap from Harmanpreet. Rawal was brought into the squad after Jemimah Rodrigues was ruled out of the Asia Cup and the upcoming Asian Games with a right hamstring injury.Harmanpreet confirmed before the match that Rawal would make her debut and said India wanted to play with greater ruthlessness during the tournament.“Today Pratika is making her debut because Jemi is not there. Playing good cricket is what we want to do. We have spoken about being ruthless and this is an important tournament for us,” Harmanpreet said.India entered the Asia Cup looking to overcome an inconsistent run in T20Is, having lost nine of their previous 16 matches this year. Thailand won the toss and opted to field, with captain Thipatcha Putthawong saying her side was excited to face India and hoping to restrict them to no more than 170.
