Dubai, 5 February 2025: India opener Abhishek Sharma surged 38 places to claim the second spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for batters, while his teammate Tilak Varma slipped to third, according to the latest update on Wednesday.
Abhishek’s meteoric rise follows his explosive 135-run knock in just 54 balls during the fifth and final T20I against England in Mumbai, helping India seal a dominant 4-1 series victory. His innings, featuring 13 sixes, is now the highest individual score by an Indian men’s player in T20Is.
As a result, the 24-year-old now sits just 26 rating points behind Australia’s Travis Head, who continues to lead the rankings.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav remains in fifth place, while Hardik Pandya (up five places to joint 51st) and Shivam Dube (up 38 spots to 58th) also made significant gains after strong performances against England.
Bowlers Make Gains, Akeal Hosein Reclaims No.1 Spot
In the bowlers’ rankings, Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy climbed three spots to joint second alongside England’s Adil Rashid, thanks to his 14-wicket haul and Player-of-the-Series performance. Ravi Bishnoi (up four places to sixth) also improved his position after picking up five wickets in the series, while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh entered the top 10 at ninth.
West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein reclaimed the No.1 bowler ranking after briefly losing the spot to Rashid last week.
Test Rankings: Australian Players Surge
Following Australia’s innings-and-242-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle, several of their players made notable gains in the Test rankings. Stand-in skipper Steve Smith climbed three places to fifth after scoring his 35th Test century, while opener Usman Khawaja rose six spots to 11th with a career-best 232.
England’s Joe Root continues to top the Test batters’ rankings, followed by Harry Brook, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, who remains in fourth.
On the bowling charts, Jasprit Bumrah retained his No.1 ranking despite recovering from a back spasm. He was recently named ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year.
Ravindra Jadeja (ninth) is the only other Indian in the top 10, while South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada moved up to second, ahead of Australia’s Pat Cummins (third), Josh Hazlewood (fourth), and Pakistan’s Noman Ali (fifth).
Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon rose two places to sixth, while Mitchell Starc climbed to 12th following their efforts in Galle.
