Ishan Kishan becomes new World No. 1 T20I batter in ICC rankings

Ishan Kishan has become the new world number one T20I batter, surpassing teammate Abhishek Sharma in the latest ICC rankings. Kishan's consistent form in the T20 World Cup propelled him to the top spot, making him the fourth Indian male player to do so.

Ishan Kishan has become world number one T20I batter, overtaking his Indian teammate and opener Abhishek Sharma for the top spot, according to the latest ICC Men's T20I batting rankings. Kishan earns a new career-high rating and surpasses Abhishek following the completion of India's recent two-match T20I series against Ireland in Belfast, which the hosts won 2-0, despite not being able to fire in both the matches, with Abhishek getting a golden duck in the last match after a 49 in the first T20I.

The rise to the top for Kishan comes on the back of his consistent form at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the start of the year, where the hard-hitting left-hander compiled 317 runs at a strike rate of almost 200 that included a 'Player of the Match' performance against Pakistan in Colombo and a half-century against New Zealand in the final, as per ICC.

Ishan is the leading T20I run-getter this year, with 1,147 runs in 30 innings at an average of 38.23 and a strike rate of 190.21, with a century and 10 fifties. Abhishek had held the top ranking for almost 12 months, with Kishan joining an exclusive group that includes Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav as one of four male players from India to have held the premier position for batters in T20I cricket.

Other T20I ranking movements

There are only seven rating points separating the two Indian players at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, while Ireland duo Lorcan Tucker (up four places to equal 77th) and Ross Adair (up six slots to 84th) make some ground in this category following some decent efforts with the bat in Belfast.

Seamer Matthew Humphreys (up one place to 25th) earns a new career-high rating on the list for T20I bowlers following his four wickets across the series, while India's Shivam Dube (up three rungs to seventh) and Ireland pair Gareth Delany (up four slots to 24th) and Harry Tector (up eight spots to 38th) make ground on the updated rankings for T20I all-rounders.

Major shake-up in Test rankings

There's also plenty of change on the latest Test rankings this week following the completion of three Tests around the world, with big changes at the top of both the batting and bowling categories as a result. Australia left-hander Travis Head takes the position as the No.1 Test batter as Harry Brook (second) and Joe Root (down two spots to third) fail to impress during the Nottingham Test against New Zealand, while Jasprit Bumrah is in sole ownership of the top ranking for Test bowlers as Kiwi pacer Matt Henry drops back down to second.

It was the Black Caps that came out on top at Trent Bridge to boost their ICC World Test Championship prospects, with a quartet of their players - Rachin Ravindra (up two spots to seventh), Daryl Mitchell (up five places to 11th), Devon Conway (up 14 rungs to equal 15th) and Tom Latham (up 12 slots to equal 31st) making giant strides on the updated list for Test batters.

Kiwi pacer Nathan Smith (up eight rungs to 38th) makes gains on the latest rankings for Test batters, while England captain Ben Stokes improves two places to finish his international career in third place on the list for Test all-rounders following his mid-match retirement.

There are also gains for a pair of West Indies quicks following their impressive Test triumph over Sri Lanka, with Shamar Joseph (up nine slots to equal 14th) and Kemar Roach (up 4 to 17) making eye-catching progress on the list for Test bowlers following their exploits in Antigua.

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