Abhishek Sharma has etched his name into the history books by becoming the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the latest ICC rankings. The 24-year-old left-handed opener is now only the third Indian men’s player, after Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, to achieve this feat. His consistent performances, including a thunderous debut century against Zimbabwe last year and a match-winning ton against England at Wankhede, have catapulted him to the summit.
He displaces Australia’s Travis Head, who had dominated the rankings since the 2024 T20 World Cup but missed the recent Caribbean series, creating a window for Abhishek’s rise. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma holds third, and captain Suryakumar Yadav stands at sixth.
India also had a strong week in Tests. At Manchester, the team fought hard across five sessions to secure a draw. Rishabh Pant, despite ongoing injury concerns, moved up to 7th in Test batting rankings after a resilient half-century. Ravindra Jadeja jumped five places to 29th, scoring an unbeaten century. Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah remains the top-ranked Test bowler.
Shubman Gill retained his ninth spot, while Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped to eighth. England’s Joe Root extended his lead as the top Test batter with a commanding 150, overtaking Ricky Ponting in Test career runs. Ben Duckett returned to the top 10 after his 94-run knock.