Mumbai: In a stunning rise that reflects both form and flair, Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has officially claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20I batting rankings, displacing Australia’s Travis Head. Abhishek becomes only the third Indian batter to reach this milestone, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
The 24-year-old left-hander has been in red-hot form since his debut during the 2024 Zimbabwe tour, which came right after India’s T20 World Cup win. While his debut innings didn’t go to plan, he roared back with a scintillating century in just his second appearance — and hasn’t looked back.
His performances against England and South Africa earlier this year have cemented his place at the top. Most notably, he smashed 135 off 54 balls at the Wankhede Stadium — the highest individual score by an Indian in T20Is. He also etched his name in history as the fastest Indian to score a T20I century, reaching the milestone in just 10.1 overs.
Travis Head, who had dominated the charts for nearly a year after taking the top spot from Suryakumar Yadav post the last T20 World Cup, now finds himself in second place. Tilak Varma, another rising Indian star, rounds out the top three with strong showings in recent series.
Among bowlers, Jacob Duffy of New Zealand remains the top-ranked, but India’s Varun Chakravarthy has climbed to the third spot. Ravi Bishnoi (No. 7) and Arshdeep Singh (No. 10) also feature in the top 10, while Axar Patel sits at No. 14.
With the Asia Cup kicking off on September 10, India’s squad — including Abhishek, Tilak, and others — looks poised to carry this momentum forward, beginning with their opening clash against UAE.
