New Delhi, India [Asia], February 5 (ANI): Indian cricketer Abhishek Sharma jumped 38 places to move into second spot in the global list of top batsmen in Twenty20 International matches, as per the rankings issued by the ICC Cricket governing body on Wednesday.
A pair of India's prominent T20 players have made significant advancements on the latest ICC Men's T20I Rankings due to their outstanding performances in the recently concluded home series against England.
Abhishek delivered the standout performance of his early international career by smashing a swift 135-run innings in the fifth and final match of the series in Mumbai, rapidly increasing his ranking for T20I batters by an impressive 38 places. His notable innings resulted from just 54 deliveries and established a new record for the highest individual score by an Indian men's player in the shortest format. Consequently, the 24-year-old player jumped to second position in the updated rankings for batters, according to the ICC.
He finished the series as the highest run-scorer, with 279 runs at a batting average of 55.80 and a strike rate of 219.68, including one hundred and one fifty each.
Travis Head, an Australian star, maintains the top spot in the rankings for T20I batters, but Abhishek currently sits second, only 26 rating points behind him, after making record-breaking contributions at Wankhede, with three Indian players now featuring in the top five.
Tilak Varma slips to third in the rankings, meanwhile, T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav drops to fifth, both within striking distance of Head. Pandya and Dube also make significant moves, with Pandya rising five spots to 51st and Dube leaping 38 spots to 58th, following some notable scores against England.
It's a similar story in the latest rankings for T20I bowlers, with spinner Varun Chakravarthy moving up three places to tie for second position, based on his 14 wickets, including a five-wicket haul, and being named Player of the Series in his match against Jos Buttler's team.
Ravi Bishnoi moves up four places to sixth on the list of T20I bowlers following his five wickets in the series against England. Akeal Hosein regains the top spot as the number one bowler, having lost it to Adil Rashid a week prior.
The latest Test rankings have seen many Australian players improve their standing, which comes as little surprise given their outstanding performance in securing a convincing 242-run victory in the recent first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Stand-in skipper Steve Smith climbed three spots to fifth in the Test batters' rankings following his 35th career century, with Steve Smith rising up the order while opener Usman Khawaja jumped six places to 11th position after notching his highest-ever Test score of 232 during the tour's successful matches.
The top-ranked Test bowlers follow a similar ranking, with Australian Nathan Lyon moving up two places to sixth and fellow Australian pacer Mitchell Starc climbing two spots 12th in the list, inspired by their performances in Galle.