ICC Rankings: Varun Chakaravarthy Becomes New No. 1 T20I Bowler

Dubai- India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has risen to the top of the ICC T20I bowlers’ rankings, displacing New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy to claim the No. 1 spot for the first time in his career.

Chakaravarthy jumped three places to reach the top and became only the third Indian bowler after Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi to hold the No. 1 T20I ranking.

The 34-year-old delivered a crucial spell in India’s Asia Cup 2025 opener against the UAE, registering figures of 1/4 in two overs. In the high-pressure clash against Pakistan, he picked up one wicket while conceding just 24 runs in his four-over spell, maintaining an economy rate of 6.00.

With this, India now boasts the No. 1 bowlers in both formats—Bumrah leads the Test rankings, while Chakaravarthy tops the T20I list.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav, who has been spearheading India’s spin attack in the Asia Cup, surged 16 places to move up to the 23rd spot.

Among other notable moves, Australia’s Adam Zampa climbed to fourth, while Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara jumped six places to reach No. 6. Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem also made significant progress, moving up to the 16th and 11th spots, respectively.

In the batters’ rankings, India’s Abhishek Sharma continues his dominance at No. 1 with a career-best 884 rating points. England’s Phil Salt and Jos Buttler rose one place each to second and third. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav slipped to seventh, with Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka moving into sixth. South Africa’s Dewald Brevis, after a string of explosive innings, is now ranked 11th and close to breaking into the top 10.

With inputs from IANS