ISLAMABAD: Rohit Sharma has regained the top position among ODI batters, while Zimbabwe veteran Sikandar Raza has reached a career milestone by becoming the No. 1 ranked T20I all-rounder for the first time.
Raza’s impressive performances in the ongoing tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Pakistan earned him the top spot in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for all-rounders. His most recent contribution came against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, where he scored a quick 37 and bowled four tight overs, despite Zimbabwe suffering a nine-wicket defeat.
These efforts allowed Raza, now 39, to surpass Pakistan’s Saim Ayub and claim the pinnacle of the T20I all-rounder rankings for the first time in his 13-year international career. Raza has consistently been among the top 10 since the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, highlighting his reliability in the shortest format.
In addition, Raza had recently achieved the No. 1 ranking for ODI all-rounders in September and currently holds the second position in that category. Following the reshuffle, Ayub drops to second in T20I all-rounders, while teammate Mohammad Nawaz moves up to seventh after strong bowling displays in the tri-series.
Pakistani batters also made gains: Sahibzada Farhan climbed eight places to fourth in T20I batting rankings, and former captain Babar Azam improved five spots to 29th after a recent half-century.
Meanwhile, there were significant changes in the top 10 across all three formats. In ODIs, India’s Rohit Sharma reclaimed the top batter spot from New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell missed the final two matches of New Zealand’s series against the West Indies, losing key rating points, which allowed Rohit to retake the lead.
New Zealand saw some positives with Rachin Ravindra rising one place to 12th and Devon Conway jumping 11 spots to 31st. West Indies captain Shai Hope also moved up two places to eighth after scoring an unbeaten century in the second match of the series. New Zealand bowlers benefited as well, with Mitchell Santner climbing to sixth and Matt Henry moving into a tie for 10th following their 3-0 series sweep.
In Test cricket, Australian and Bangladeshi players made notable moves. Travis Head’s match-winning fourth-innings knock against England in Perth lifted him four spots to sixth among Test batters. England’s Ollie Pope also improved to 24th, while Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, and Mominul Haque all climbed significantly after their team’s 217-run victory over Ireland in Mirpur.
On the bowling side, Australia’s Mitchell Starc jumped four places to fifth in the Test bowler rankings, achieving a new career-high rating following his Player of the Match performance, while Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam rose to 15th.
The Test all-rounder rankings also saw some changes, with Ben Stokes moving up to second behind India’s Ravindra Jadeja, and Starc climbing two spots to fifth overall.
