India's ace spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has dethroned New Zealand's Jacob Duffy to become World no.1 bowler in the latest ICC T20I bowlers rankings. Following his economical spells in the first two matches of the Asia Cup 2025, Chakaravarthy rocketed to the top of rankings. The 34-year-old climbed three spots after his impressive performances against the UAE, where he took one wicket for just four runs in two overs, and Pakistan, where he finished with figures of 1/24 from four overs.
Varun Chakaravarthy is the new World no.1 bowlers in T20Is
With this, the 34-year-old became only the third Indian bowler in history to reach the top of the T20I bowling rankings. He now joins an exclusive list that includes pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Chakaravarthy previously held the second spot in February 2025 before displacing New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, who had been leading the charts since March. The latest weekly update also saw other significant movements, including Sri Lanka's seam bowler Nuwan Thushara moving up six places to reach the sixth spot.
A number of bowlers have seen a significant rise in the latest rankings. From Pakistan, Sufiyan Muqeem moved up four places to 11th, and Abrar Ahmed jumped 11 places to a career-best 16th. Indian spinners Axar Patel (up one spot to 12th) and Kuldeep Yadav (up 16 spots to 23rd) also climbed the table, as did Afghanistan's Noor Ahmed, who moved up eight places to 25th.
The rankings also saw gains for several fast bowlers. India's Jasprit Bumrah advanced four spots to 40th, and Bangladesh's Tanzim Hasan moved up five places to 42nd, both benefiting from their performances in the Asia Cup. Outside of the tournament, England's Joffra Archer gained three places to reach 13th, while South Africa's left-arm seamer Marco Jansen moved up five spots to 38th.
On the batting side, India's left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma solidified his position as the world's top-ranked T20I batter. His quick-fire knocks of 30 off 16 balls against the UAE and 31 off 13 against Pakistan earned him an additional 55 rating points, bringing his total to a career-high 884. Meanwhile, England's explosive opening duo, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, each moved up one position to second and third respectively, after their sensational performances in the second T20I against South Africa in Manchester. Several other batters have also made notable gains in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Rankings. Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka moved up one spot to sixth place, while South Africa's Dewald Brevis climbed two places to 11th. Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan advanced two spots to 19th, and the UAE's Mohammad Waseem also gained two positions, reaching 20th.
The rankings also saw significant jumps for other players. South Africa's Aiden Markram moved up an impressive 10 places to 30th. Indian batter Shubman Gill advanced four places to 39th, and Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan saw one of the biggest leaps, climbing 18 spots to 55th.