Abhishek Sharma’s stunning century against England propelled him 38 ranks up the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings to world number two. His blistering 135 off 54 balls at Wankhede Stadium, India’s best individual T20I score and second-fastest T20I century, accelerated his stratospheric rise. Sharma’s series total of 279 runs at 55.80 average and 219.68 strike rate, which included a century and a fifty, cemented his status among the T20I elite.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Travis Head leads, Sharma is only 26 rating points behind. Tilak Varma is third, followed by Suryakumar Yadav in fifth, ensuring a strong Indian presence in the top five. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube both made huge increases.
Varun Chakaravarthy, who was named Player of the Series against England, came close to topping the bowlers’ rankings. His 14 wickets in five matches moved him up three places to second place. Akeal Hosein of the West Indies is the top-ranked player, just two points ahead of Chakravarthy. Ravi Bishnoi surged to sixth.
In Test cricket, Australia’s overwhelming performance against Sri Lanka in Galle resulted in rating increases. Steve Smith’s century moved him up three ranks to fifth among batters, while Usman Khawaja’s 232 pushed him up six slots to eleventh.
