Abhishek Sharma joins Virat Kohli & SKY in elite T20I club, beats SRH teammate Travis Head

Indian cricket fans have a new hero to cheer for as 24-year-old Abhishek Sharma has climbed to the top of the ICC T20I batter rankings, overtaking big names like Australia’s Travis Head and Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.

This is a huge moment for Abhishek, who made his international debut just last year. He first grabbed attention with a stunning T20I century against Zimbabwe in his debut series, but it was his recent performances against teams like South Africa and England that catapulted him to the top.

Travis Head, who had held the top spot for over a year after dethroning Suryakumar Yadav, lost his place because he didn’t play in Australia’s recent T20I series against the West Indies. Head is Sharma’s teammate at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They are feared for their destructive partnership at the top when they play together at SRH.

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Abhishek Sharma joins Virat Kohli & SKY in elite club

With this, Abhishek becomes only the third Indian to ever top the T20I batting rankings after Virat Kohli and Suryakumar. Kohli ruled the rankings for three years from 2014 to 2017 and maintained his top spot for much of this period. Kohli retired from the format after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Tilkar Varma is also in the top 10 as he retained his No. 3 spot in the T20 batting rankings. Suryakumar Yadav is constant on No. 6 with England batters Phil Salt and Jos Buttler sandwiched between him and Varma. Yashasvi Jaiswal has dropped down two places to No. 11.

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Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja gain in Test rankings

Meanwhile, there are a few changes in the Test rankings as well in regards to Indian players. India’s vice-captain in Tests, Rishabh Pant, has gained one place to go from eighth to seventh in the ICC Test batting rankings thanks to a gritty half-century in Manchester, where he batted with a fractured toe.

Jaiswal also suffered a setback here as he dropped three places to No. 9 in the Test batting rankings after a mixed performance in the first four Tests in England, where he began with a century but failed to convert his starts and registered two ducks as well.

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