India dominate ICC T20I charts: Chakaravarthy joins Abhishek, Hardik at the top

India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has capped off a remarkable year by climbing to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I bowling rankings, becoming only the third Indian bowler after Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi to achieve the feat.

Chakravarthy’s ascent to the No.1 ranking means India now reign supreme across all three departments in men’s T20Is — with Abhishek Sharma leading the batting charts and Hardik Pandya holding the top spot among all-rounders.

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The 34-year-old Chakravarthy, who has established himself as a regular in India’s T20I setup over the past 12 months, overtook New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy to secure the No.1 spot. His rise has been fuelled by consistent performances, including a second career five-wicket haul against England earlier this year and steady returns in the ongoing Asia Cup.

Chakaravarthy returned miserly figures of 1/4 against the UAE in India’s opening match and followed it up with 1/24 against Pakistan, efforts that helped him jump three places to the top of the rankings. Duffy slipped to second, West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein stayed third, while Australia’s Adam Zampa climbed to fourth.

There was plenty of movement elsewhere too. Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara surged six spots to sixth, while Pakistan spinners Sufiyan Muqeem (11th, up four) and Abrar Ahmed (16th, up 11) continued their rise. Among Indians, Kuldeep Yadav made a big leap of 16 places to 23rd.

On the batting charts, Abhishek consolidated his place as the No.1 T20I batter after scoring 31 against Pakistan, though England’s Phil Salt (second) and Jos Buttler (third) remain in close pursuit. Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (sixth), Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz (19th), Bangladesh’s Tanzid Hasan (35th), and India Test captain Shubman Gill (39th) also moved up following solid Asia Cup performances.

In the all-rounders’ rankings led by Hardik, Pakistan’s Saim Ayub jumped four places to joint-fifth, while Abhishek Sharma climbed four spots to 14th, underlining his growing stature in the format.