KEY POINTS
- Spinners Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz achieve career-best bowling positions.
- Jos Buttler reclaims third place in the batting rankings, displacing Tilak Varma.
- England’s Will Jacks makes the week’s biggest leap, rising 107 places in the all-rounder
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Saim Ayub has been crowned the new No.1 all-rounder in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
His rise to the summit headlines a significant update to the charts following recent international fixtures against Australia.
Ayub’s ascent comes on the back of a pivotal role in Pakistan’s 3-0 series whitewash over Australia at home.
Contributing in every match, his performances—including a crucial 56 in the final game, saw his all-rounder rating jump from 277 to 290.
This propelled him past Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza (289) to claim the top spot.
Ayub is now guaranteed to hold the No.1 ranking when the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup commences on February 7.
Spinners shine as bowling ranks reshuffle
The bowling rankings witnessed dramatic movement, led by two spinners achieving career-best positions.
Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed climbed two places to a career-high second, though his rating of 748 still trails India’s top-ranked Varun Chakravarthy (776).
Teammate Mohammad Nawaz also surged eight spots to secure seventh place.
Other notable bowling climbers include England’s Liam Dawson, who made the week’s biggest jump of +59 places to enter the top 100 at 80th.
Pakistan’s Shadab Khan rose 33 spots to joint-72nd.
Buttler reclaims top-three batting position
In the batting rankings, England captain Jos Buttler displaced India’s Tilak Varma to reclaim third position.
The rise of Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (up to fifth) and India’s Suryakumar Yadav (up to sixth) pushed Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan down two places to seventh.
India’s Abhishek Sharma and England’s Phil Salt maintain their grip on the top two batting positions.
South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton made the most significant batting leap, soaring 42 places to 40th.
All-rounder rankings see meteoric rises
Beyond Ayub’s milestone, the all-rounder’s chart was marked by explosive gains.
England’s Will Jacks made a staggering leap of 107 places to sit joint-83rd, the largest single move across all categories.
Pakistan’s Shadab Khan also enjoyed a notable rise, gaining 13 places to reach 26th.
The updated rankings solidify several players’ statuses as key figures ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, setting the stage for high-stakes performances on the global stage.
