India wristspinner Varun Chakravarthy has become the top-ranked bowler in the ICC men’s T20I rankings following standout performances at the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE. Chakravarthy, 34, took 1 for 4 against UAE and 1 for 24 against Pakistan, lifting him to the No. 1 position. He is the third Indian bowler to achieve this ranking, after Jasprit Bumrah and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi.
He displaced New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who had held the top spot since March. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka quick Nuwan Thushara climbed six places to sixth after taking one wicket across his first two Asia Cup matches.
Pakistan’s left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem moved up four spots to 11th, while India’s left-arm spinner Axar Patel rose one place to 12th. Pakistan legspinner Abrar Ahmed jumped 11 places to 16th, India’s Kuldeep Yadav gained 16 spots to reach 23rd, and Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad is now ranked 25th after the ICC’s weekly update.
On the batting front, India opener Abhishek Sharma has tightened his grip on the No. 1 ranking. He scored 30 off 16 balls against UAE and 31 off 13 balls against Pakistan.
England’s openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler each moved up a place to second and third respectively. Salt struck 141 not out off 60 balls, marking England’s highest T20I score and fastest century, while Buttler smashed 83 off 30 balls as England posted 304 for 2 in the second T20I against South Africa at Old Trafford. This marks the first time Buttler has broken into the top three in the T20I batting rankings.
