Abrar Ahmed dethrones Rashid Khan to become top T20I bowler

Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed has become the world’s no. 1 T20I bowler for the first time, according to the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Abrar moved to the top of the T20I bowling rankings after Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan slipped one rating point behind his tally of 736 following an unimpressive final match against India.

Rashid had held the top position for six months. Abrar is now the fifth Pakistan bowler to reach no. 1 in the T20I bowling rankings after Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi.

The latest rankings also saw England captain Harry Brook rise to a career-best fourth place among T20I batters following a successful home series against Sri Lanka.

Brook scored an unbeaten 114 in the first match in Southampton and accumulated 170 runs across the series to be named Player of the Series. He climbed five places in the rankings, which are led by India’s Ishan Kishan.

Brook, who is the top-ranked Test batter, also moved up three places to 12th in the ODI batting rankings, putting him within reach of a top-10 position across all three formats.

His England team-mate Jos Buttler moved up two places and is now fifth after contributing 172 runs to England’s 3-0 series victory over Sri Lanka.

India captain Shreyas Iyer climbed seven places to joint-22nd, while England’s Tom Banton made a 30-place jump to 60th in the T20I batting rankings.

Among the bowlers, England’s Jamie Overton was one of the biggest gainers, rising 47 places to a career-best sixth after taking five wickets in the Sri Lanka series.

England’s Liam Dawson climbed 12 places to 11th, while India spinners Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi moved up to 15th and 35th respectively. Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai rose three places to 49th.

England’s Will Jacks moved to 58th among T20I bowlers and climbed to third in the all-rounders’ rankings.

In the ODI rankings, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza rose five places to 24th after scoring 45 and an unbeaten 81 in the final two matches of his side’s three-match home series against Australia.

Australia’s Josh Inglis climbed 11 places to 30th, while Zimbabwe’s Craig Ervine moved up seven places to 65th. Jacks also advanced two places to 77th in the ODI batting rankings.

Australia fast bowler Nathan Ellis climbed three places to a career-best 17th after taking nine wickets in the Zimbabwe series.

Sri Lanka seamer Asitha Fernando also moved up the ODI bowling rankings, rising from 39th to 30th after taking three wickets for 53 runs in the opening match of the series against England in Chester-le-Street.