Pakistan’s young guns surge in ICC T20I rankings after West Indies series

Pakistan’s cricketers have seen improvement in the latest ICC T20I rankings following their impressive performances in the recent three-match series against the West Indies, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Wednesday. 

Middle-order batter Hassan Nawaz made a remarkable leap, climbing 24 spots to secure 30th position with 569 rating points.

Saim Ayub, Pakistan’s top scorer in the series with 130 runs (including two half-centuries), surged 25 places to 37th, earning 559 points.

Fellow opener Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 91 runs, rocketed 34 spots up to 63rd with 484 points.

Captain Salman Ali Agha and experienced batter Fakhar Zaman also improved their standings, rising 15 and three places to 76th and 78th, respectively.

However, Pakistan’s star duo Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have been inactive in T20Is since 2024, slipped three places each, with Babar now at 17th and Rizwan at 19th.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, who struggled in the Caribbean, dropped 21 spots to 86th.

India’s Abhishek Sharma retained his position as the No.1 T20I batter, followed by Australia’s Travis Head and India’s Tilak Varma in second and third.

No Pakistani bowler currently features in the top 20, but left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem made a stunning 69-place jump to 34th with 542 points.

Pace spearhead Haris Rauf held his 26th position (575 points), while young pacer Abbas Afridi dropped three spots to 27th.

 Shaheen Afridi slipped one place to 36th, and Mohammad Nawaz surged 51 spots to 56th (489 points).

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed fell nine places to 60th, and vice-captain Shadab Khan dropped five spots to 72nd.

New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy remains the top-ranked T20I bowler, with England’s Adil Rashid second and West Indies’ Akeal Hosein moving up to third.

Shadab Khan slipped two spots to 19th, but Saim Ayub made a massive 70-place leap to 24th (119 points). Mohammad Nawaz climbed 13 spots to 36th, while Abbas Afridi fell four places to 56th. Faheem Ashraf moved up five places to 77th.

India’s Hardik Pandya remains the No. 1 T20I all-rounder, with Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi completing the top three.