Ranking all teams in 2024 Women's Asia Cup from strongest to weakest ft. India
The 2024 Women's Asia Cup is set to enthrall cricketing fans in Sri Lanka with a doubleheader, starting Friday, July 19. While the action begins with a battle of underdogs, UAE and Nepal, the marquee India-Pakistan contest will follow in the night session.
India Women enter the tournament as the defending champions after defeating Sri Lanka in the finale in 2022. Pakistan, UAE, and Nepal will join the seven-time Women's Asia Cup champions in Group A.
Meanwhile, hosts Sri Lanka are placed in Group B with Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia.
After the teams play three games each, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-final for the right to partake in the grand final on Sunday, July 28. The tournament will be the ideal precursor to the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.
As we countdown to the exciting action commencing in under 48 hours, let us rank the eight participating teams of the 2024 Women's Asia Cup.
#1 India
It is a no-brainer that the Indian women are undoubtedly the strongest of the eight teams to play in the 2024 Asia Cup. Led by the flamboyant Harmanpreet Kaur, the Women in Blue will look for an eighth Asia Cup title in nine editions.
India are coming off a hard-fought 1-1 drawn T20I series against South Africa before which they walloped Bangladesh in their home arena 5-0. India are also third in the latest ICC T20I rankings behind only Australia and England.
In Smriti Mandhana and Deepthi Sharma, the side boasts two top-five batters and bowlers in the T20I rankings, with the latter also ranked third among all-rounders.
With almost every base covered and most of the players in top form, another Indian title run will be impossible to bet against.
#2 Sri Lanka
The runner-up of the 2022 Women's Asia Cup, Sri Lanka, come in at No.2 on the back of solid recent showings. Led by the legendary Chamari Athapaththu, the Lankans are ranked seventh in the ICC T20I rankings, behind only India among Asian teams.
They come into this tournament after a tough 1-2 series loss to the West Indies at home, with the final T20I going down to the wire. Sri Lanka enjoyed an unbeaten run to win the 2024 T20 World Cup qualifier before the West Indies series.
The Lankans also defeated South Africa in an away T20I series 2-1 in April and won by 2-1 margins against England and Bangladesh last year.
With skipper Athapaththu in the top ten of the T20I batting and all-rounder rankings and Inoshi Priyadharshani at No.7 in the bowler rankings, Sri Lanka boast two of the best match-winners in the competition.
Playing at home should only bolster their chances further and an India-Sri Lanka final in back-to-back Asia Cups looks highly probable.
#3 Bangladesh
Bangladesh surprisingly rank as the third-best side in the 2024 Women's Asia Cup despite sorry performances in T20Is this year. They are coming off back-to-back whitewashes to India (0-5) and Australia (0-3).
Yet, in the two series before the India and Australia affairs, Bangladesh enjoyed a 1-1 draw in South Africa. They also defeated Pakistan 2-1 before that to edge past them in our overall rankings.
Led by wicketkeeper-batter Nigar Sultana, Bangladesh boast one of the best T20I spinners going around in leg-spinner Rabeya Khan.
The 19-year-old sensation is ranked sixth in the world among bowlers and her exploits on potentially favorable Sri Lankan pitches could go a long way in Bangladesh's progress through the competition.
#4 Pakistan
The fourth and final Asian powerhouse, Pakistan, are placed below Bangladesh despite being ranked one spot higher in the ICC team rankings (8th to Bangladesh's 9th).
That's thanks to several poor recent results in the format, including a 0-3 drubbing to England and a 1-4 thrashing to the West Indies this year. While they did beat New Zealand 2-1 at the end of last year, the 1-2 loss in Bangladesh before that highlighted their struggles in T20Is.
Led by the great Nida Dar, ranked sixth among T20I all-rounders, Pakistan also boast two top-10-ranked bowlers, Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu.
Dar's impactful performances and a strong bowling attack will be key for Pakistan to pull off the upset and become the Women's Asia Cup champions.
#5 UAE
Among the four teams that played in the 2024 ACC Women's Premier Cup to qualify for the Asia Cup, UAE undeniably tops the list, making them fifth overall among the Asian sides.
They won all three Group Stage games followed by a four-run escape against Thailand in the semi-final. However, in the grand finale, UAE thrashed Malaysia by 37 runs to win the tournament.
Led by batting all-rounder Esha Rohit Oza, UAE are in the tougher group with India and Pakistan as the two favorites to advance to the semi-final. Yet, an upset, especially against the latter, cannot be ruled out.
#6 Thailand
Despite being four places ahead of UAE (16th)in the ICC T20I team rankings, Thailand (12th) are below them in our Asia Cup rankings due to the semi-final loss against UAE in the qualifier tournament.
Yet, the side was the talk of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 when they stunningly finished in the top four to advance to the semi-final. Thailand beat Pakistan in a shocker in that tournament before their dream run ended with a semi-final defeat to India.
Let by left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong, Thailand will look to cause similar tremors to the top teams in the upcoming Asia Cup as they battle Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Malaysia in Group B.
#7 Malaysia
Malaysia are in seventh place after qualifying for the Asia Cup with a final run in the qualifying tournament.
The side defeated Nepal in the semi-final after going unbeaten in the group stages before losing by 37 runs to UAE in the grand finale. Led by batting all-rounder Winifred Duraisingham, Malaysia are in Group B where Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the favorites for the semi-final.
#8 Nepal
Nepal are the bottom-placed team of the 2024 Asia Cup participants despite boasting a talented roster. Like the other three teams that made it through the qualifier, Nepal were unbeaten in the group stages before the semi-final defeat to Malaysia.
Indu Barma, the 26-year-old batter, will lead the side in the competition but Nepal will have quite the task in Group A featuring India, Pakistan, and UAE.