New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS): Following a 4-1 T20I series win over England, left-handed opening all-rounder Abhishek Sharma and wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy have made big jumps in the recent update to the ICC Men’s T20I rankings issued on Wednesday.
Abhishek recently produced the best innings of his budding international career by smashing a scintillating 135 in the fifth and final match of the series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and has now shot up a whopping 38 places to be second on the T20I rankings for batters.
Abhishek, who now holds the record for the highest individual score made by an Indian men's player in the shortest format, is just 26 rating points behind the top-ranked Australia left-handed opener Travis Head. In the batters’ rankings, Tilak Varma is third and skipper Suryakumar Yadav is fifth to maintain the Indian representation in top five.
On the other hand, Chakravarthy has moved up three places to equal second position in the men’s bowlers rankings on the back of his 14 wickets and Player of the Series effort against England.
Other gainers from the Indian team include Hardik Pandya (up five places to equal 51st) and Shivam Dube (up 38 spots to 58th) in rankings for T20I batters, as well as leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, up four places to sixth position in bowlers rankings, after picking five wickets in the series against England.
West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein re-claims his spot as the number one Men’s T20I bowler after he lost the mantle to England leg-spinner Adil Rashid a week earlier. Meanwhile, after Australia secured a big win over Sri Lanka at Galle, the tourists’ players have made big jumps in the men’s Test rankings.
Stand-in skipper Steve Smith has gained three places to move up to fifth on the rankings for Test batters following his 35th Test century, while opener Usman Khawaja gains six places to rise to 11th position after making his highest Test score of 232.
In the rankings for Test bowlers, veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon has rose two spots to jump to sixth overall and left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc is up two places to 12th following their efforts in first Test at Galle.