The latest ICC T20I player rankings, released on January 28, 2026, have brought excellent news for the Indian cricket team just ten days before their T20 World Cup title defense. Following a dominant performance in the home series against New Zealand, several Indian players have made significant leaps, with captain Suryakumar Yadav making a long-awaited return to the top ten.
Suryakumar Yadav’s Resurgence
After a temporary lean patch, Suryakumar Yadav has struck a “purple patch” during the ongoing five-match series against the Black Caps.
- The Rise: He has surged five places to 7th position with 717 rating points.
- The Form: This jump follows his match-winning unbeaten knocks of 82* and 57* in the second and third T20Is respectively.
- Ending the Drought: His innings in the second T20I ended a 468-day drought without an international T20 half-century, signaling his return to peak form at the perfect time.
Abhishek Sharma Consolidates World No. 1 Spot
Young opener Abhishek Sharma continues to distance himself from the rest of the pack as the world’s top-ranked T20I batter.
- Current Standing: He remains at No. 1 with 929 rating points, just two shy of his career-best 931.
- The Gap: He now holds a commanding 80-point lead over England’s Phil Salt (849).
- Indian Dominance: With Tilak Varma holding steady at 3rd place, India currently occupies three of the top seven spots in the batting rankings.
Gains for Bowlers and All-Rounders
- Jasprit Bumrah: After his Player-of-the-Match performance (3/17) in the third T20I, Bumrah has climbed four spots to 13th in the T20I bowling rankings.
- Varun Chakravarthy: He maintains his position as the World No. 1 T20I bowler following a stellar series.
- Hardik Pandya: The star all-rounder moved up to 3rd place in the all-rounders’ chart and surged 18 places to 59th among T20I bowlers.
- Shivam Dube: Gained six places to reach a career-best 11th position in the all-rounder rankings.
England’s ODI Stars Vault After Sri Lanka Series Win
While India dominates the T20I charts, England’s senior players have made major moves in the ODI rankings following their 2-1 series victory in Sri Lanka.
Brook and Root Enter the Top 20
The final ODI in Colombo saw twin centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root, leading to a significant rankings shuffle:
- Harry Brook: His explosive 136* off 66 balls helped him jump 17 places to 11th in the ODI batting rankings.
- Joe Root: The veteran anchor climbed six spots to 17th after finishing as the series’ leading run-scorer (247 runs).
- Adil Rashid: England’s premier leg-spinner moved up six places to 5th in the ODI bowling rankings after taking seven wickets in the series.
