Abrar Ahmed nears top T20I spot; Agha and Saim make big gains ahead of World Cup
Saim Ayub made a remarkable jump of eight places to 27th
DUBAI: Pakistan players have made significant gains in the latest ICC T20I rankings ahead of the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
In the batting rankings, opener Sahibzada Farhan slipped two places from fifth to seventh with 715 points. Saim Ayub made a remarkable jump of eight places to 27th, while captain Salman Ali Agha rose 12 spots to 29th with 589 points.
Former captain Babar Azam dropped three places to 34th, Mohammad Rizwan fell six spots to 67th with 479 points, and Fakhar Zaman slipped five places to 74th. Young pacer Hasan Nawaz also moved down six spots to 90th.
At the top, India’s Abhishek Sharma retains his position as the number one T20I batter, followed by England’s Phil Salt at second. The third spot saw a change as former Indian batter Tilak Varma dropped to fourth, replaced by England’s Jos Buttler.
In the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed achieved a career-best ranking, moving up to second with 748 points and closing in on India’s Varun Chakravarthy at the top. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan slipped to third.
Spinner Mohammad Nawaz made a significant rise, moving up eight places to seventh with 672 points.
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi climbed five spots to 19th, while Salman Mirza fell four places to 22nd and Sufiyan Muqeem dropped five spots to 38th.
Other movements include Saim Ayub slipping four places to 58th, Haris Rauf down nine places to 66th, Shadab Khan making a huge 33-place jump to 72nd, and Faheem Ashraf dropping 11 spots to 87th.
In the all-rounders’ rankings, Saim Ayub has climbed back to the top spot, dethroning Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, who now sits second, while India’s Hardik Pandya retains third place.
Pakistan’s Nawaz moves up one spot to fourth with 230 points, Shadab Khan makes a massive leap of 13 places to 26th, while Faheem Ashraf drops six spots to 46th.
Salman Agha rises seven places to 54th, and Shaheen Afridi falls two places to 69th.
Comments