Pakistan bowler Abrar Ahmed claimed the number one spot in the ICC Men’s T20I bowling rankings for the first time ever. The ICC released updated rankings on 23 September, 2026. The 28-year-old spinner earned 736 rating points to surpass Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan by one point. Abrar reached the top following consistent wicket-taking performances during the 2026 T20 World Cup and a home series against Australia.
Abrar Enters Elite Company in Pakistan Cricket
Abrar became the fifth Pakistani bowler to reach the number one position in the ICC T20I bowling rankings. He joined an elite list of Pakistan bowling greats. Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi previously held the top rank for Pakistan. Before this latest ranking update, Abrar occupied second place in the global table.
Abrar dethroned Rashid Khan, who had held the top spot for six months. Rashid Khan dropped to second place with 735 rating points. Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa maintained third place with 700 points. England spinner Adil Rashid occupies fourth position with 695 points, while Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis sits fifth with 675 points.
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Strong Wicket-Taking Performance Earns Top Position
Abrar took six wickets across five matches during the 2026 T20 World Cup. He delivered a key spell of three wickets for 23 runs (3-23) against Sri Lanka in Pakistan’s final group game. He also took two wickets against the Netherlands and one wicket against the United States.
Abrar also dominated Australian batters during a bilateral T20 series earlier in the year. He took three wickets for 14 runs (3-14) in the third T20 international in Lahore. He followed that spell with figures of 2-10 in the fourth match and 1-18 in the series final. Beside his T20I success, Abrar also reached a career-best fourth position in the ICC One-Day International (ODI) bowling rankings.
The leg-spinner also reflected on reaching the top of the ICC T20I bowling rankings, the work behind his success and what he aims to achieve in the future.
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Major Changes in T20I Batting and All-Rounder Standings
The ICC update also showed notable movement among top T20I batters. England captain Harry Brook moved up five places to reach a career-best fourth position. Brook scored an unbeaten 114 in the opening T20 match against Sri Lanka in Southampton. He accumulated 170 runs across the three matches as England completed a 3-0 series victory. ICC officials named Brook Player of the Series for his performance. Brook also climbed three places to 12th in the ODI batting rankings.
England batter Jos Buttler rose two places to fifth position in T20Is after scoring 172 runs against Sri Lanka. India captain Shreyas Iyer moved up seven places to joint-22nd position, while England’s Tom Banton jumped 30 spots to 60th place. In the T20I all-rounders rankings, England’s Will Jacks moved up three places to third spot behind Sikandar Raza and Saim Ayub.
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Movement Across One-Day International Standings
In the ODI rankings, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza climbed five places to 24th after scoring 45 and an unbeaten 81 against Australia. Australia fast bowler Nathan Ellis rose three places to a career-best 17th in ODIs after taking nine wickets against Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka bowler Asitha Fernando climbed from 39th to 30th position after taking three wickets for 53 runs against England.
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