Mystery spinner Varun Charkravarthy on Wednesday rose to the top spot in ICC's T20 International Bowlers' Rankings for the first time in his career, becoming just the third Indian to achieve the position.
"India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been rewarded for his consistent form in 2025 by becoming the No.1 ranked bowler on the latest ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings," the ICC said in a statement.
Chakaravarthy is just the third Indian bowler to top the ICC T20I bowling rankings, after Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi.
Chakaravarthy has become a mainstay in India's T20I lineup in the last 12 months. The 34-year-old has shown his class with a string of strong performances that has helped him overtake New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy at the top of the rankings, the ICC stated.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has made a significant leap, jumping 16 places to 23rd, while spin all-rounder Axar Patel has moved up one place to 12th.
Bumrah has also improved his position, rising four spots to 40th.
In the all-rounders' rankings, Hardik Pandya continues to hold the top spot, while Abhishek Sharma has climbed four places to 14th.
Abhishek has also consolidated his position at the top of the T20 batting rankings. His explosive innings of 30 off 16 balls against the UAE and 31 off 13 against Pakistan have helped him achieve a career-high 884 rating points.
His opening partner Shubman Gill has moved up four places to 39th. However, Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Yadav have slipped in the rankings.
Tilak is down two spots to fourth, while Suryakumar has dropped one position to seventh. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was not included in the Asia Cup squad, has also fallen two places to 13th.
The England opening pair of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler have advanced one spot each to second and third positions, respectively, after their scintillating performances in the second T20 against South Africa in Manchester.
Salt's 141 not out off 60 balls, which was the highest score and the fastest T20 century by an England batter, inched back towards his career-best No. 1 position while Buttler's 83 off 30 helped him attain a career-high 794 rating points and make a first appearance inside the top three.
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