Cliff Notes – Varun Chakravarthy takes top spot in men’s T20I bowling rankings
- Varun Chakravarthy has ascended to the No. 1 position in the ICC men’s T20I bowling rankings after impressive performances in the Asia Cup, including figures of 1 for 4 against UAE and 1 for 24 against Pakistan.
- He is the third Indian bowler to achieve this ranking, following Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi, and has surpassed New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, who held the top spot since March.
- In related updates, India’s Abhishek Sharma maintains the No. 1 ranking for T20I batters, while England’s Phil Salt and Jos Buttler have moved up to second and third place, respectively, following their record-breaking performances against South Africa.
Varun Chakravarthy takes top spot in men’s T20I bowling rankings
India wristspinner Varun Chakravarthy has become the top-ranked bowler in the ICC’s men’s T20I rankings following his performances of 1 for 4 against UAE and 1 for 24 against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE. He is the third Indian bowler to achieve the No. 1 ranking after Jasprit Bumrah and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi.
Chakravarthy, 34, overtook New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who had been at No. 1 since March. Sri Lanka quick Nuwan Thushara also rose six places to sixth place after taking one wicket in his first two Asia Cup matches.
Pakistan’s left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem has moved up four spots to 11th, India’s left-arm spinner Axar Patel is up one rank to 12th, Pakistan legspinner Abrar Ahmed jumped 11 places to 16th and Kuldeep Yadav has made up 16 spots to finish 23rd, and Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad is 25th after the ICC’s weekly update of the rankings.
India opener Abhishek Sharma has strengthened his grip on the No. 1 ranking for T20I batters by blitzing 30 off 16 balls against UAE and 31 off 13 balls against Pakistan at the Asia Cup.
England’s openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler have both moved up a spot to second and third place. Salt scored 141 not out off 60 balls – England’s highest T20I score and fastest century – and Buttler 83 off 30 balls as England smashed 304 for 2 in the second T20I against South Africa at Old Trafford. It’s the first time Buttler has broken into the top three in the ICC’s T20I batting rankings.