Sahibzada closes gap with top-ranked Abhishek in T20I rankings

2026-03-04 - 12:24

Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan has surged to second place in the latest ICC T20I batters’ rankings following a historic run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, narrowing the gap on India’s Abhishek Sharma. Farhan finished the tournament with a staggering 383 runs at an average of 76.60, the most by any batter in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. In doing so, he also became the only player to score two centuries in one T20 World Cup campaign. The prolific right-hander climbed one position to second in the rankings with 848 rating points. Despite enduring a relatively quiet tournament, Abhishek Sharma continues to hold the top spot, while England’s Phil Salt has slipped to third. While Farhan enjoyed a meteoric rise, several other Pakistani batters witnessed a dip. Saim Ayub and Babar Azam each dropped one place to 35th and 37th, respectively. T20I captain Salman Ali Agha fell three spots to 41st. However, Fakhar Zaman made a notable jump, climbing 17 places to 71st after his blistering 84-run knock against Sri Lanka in the final Super Eights fixture. He now sits on 481 rating points. In the bowlers’ rankings, Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed advanced two places to third with 736 points, edging closer to India’s Varun Chakaravarthy, who occupies the top position. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan remains second. Mohammad Nawaz retained his 12th spot, while pacer Salman Mirza dropped three places to 21st. Shaheen Shah Afridi slipped four positions to 35th with 602 points. Spinner Usman Tariq held firm at 55th, and Sufiyan Muqeem stayed at 60th. Saim Ayub, who features in the bowling rankings as well, fell to 67th. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan dropped seven places to 72nd, while pacer Haris Rauf slid three spots to 84th. Abbas Afridi currently sits at 98th with 415 points. In the all-rounders’ category, Saim Ayub slipped one position to third, paving the way for India’s Hardik Pandya to move up to second. Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza continues to lead the standings. Mohammad Nawaz climbed one place to eighth, while Shadab Khan dropped to 22nd. Faheem Ashraf and Salman Ali Agha both slipped three spots to 55th and 56th, respectively, and Shaheen Afridi fell two places to 65th.