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Varun Chakravarthy takes top spot in men's T20I bowling rankings

India wristspinner overtakes New Zealand's Jacob Duffy following his performances in two Asia Cup matches

ESPNcricinfo staff
17-Sep-2025 • 5 hrs ago
Varun Chakravarthy fune-tunes his catching skills, India vs Pakistan, men's T20 Asia Cup, Dubai, September 13, 2025

Varun Chakravarthy took one wicket in each of his first two matches at the ongoing Asia Cup  •  AFP/Getty Images

India wristspinner Varun Chakravarthy has become the top-ranked bowler in the ICC's men's T20I rankings following his performances of 1 for 4 against UAE and 1 for 24 against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE. He is the third Indian bowler to achieve the No. 1 ranking after Jasprit Bumrah and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi.
Chakravarthy, 34, overtook New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who had been at No. 1 since March. Sri Lanka quick Nuwan Thushara also rose six places to sixth place after taking one wicket in his first two Asia Cup matches.
Pakistan's left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem has moved up four spots to 11th, India's left-arm spinner Axar Patel is up one rank to 12th, Pakistan legspinner Abrar Ahmed jumped 11 places to 16th and Kuldeep Yadav has made up 16 spots to finish 23rd, and Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad is 25th after the ICC's weekly update of the rankings.
India opener Abhishek Sharma has strengthened his grip on the No. 1 ranking for T20I batters by blitzing 30 off 16 balls against UAE and 31 off 13 balls against Pakistan at the Asia Cup.
England's openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler have both moved up a spot to second and third place. Salt scored 141 not out off 60 balls - England's highest T20I score and fastest century - and Buttler 83 off 30 balls as England smashed 304 for 2 in the second T20I against South Africa at Old Trafford. It's the first time Buttler has broken into the top three in the ICC's T20I batting rankings.

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