ICC T20 Rankings: Ishan Kishan has become the world’s number-1 batsman in the new ICC T20 batting rankings. Know how he got ahead of Abhishek Sharma despite scoring less runs…
Ishan Kishan Becomes World’s No.1 T20 Batter: The new ICC batting rankings of T20 cricket have surprised the cricket fans. Ishan Kishan, who is in excellent form, has now become the world’s number-1 T20 batsman. He has left behind Indian opener Abhishek Sharma. However, the biggest question is that despite performing better in the recent series, how did Abhishek Sharma’s ranking fall? This is the reason why the new ICC T20 ranking has become a topic of discussion.
How did Ishan Kishan snatch the crown of number-1?
Before the Ireland series, Abhishek Sharma was the world number-1 T20 batsman with 875 rating points, while Ishan Kishan was at the second position with 871 points. In the first match of the series, Abhishek Sharma played an explosive inning of 49 runs in just 20 balls. However, in the second match, he was out on the very first ball without opening the account. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan scored only 1 run in the first match and only 12 runs in the second match. Despite this, in the new ICC rankings, Ishan Kishan reached number-1 with 876 rating points, while Abhishek Sharma slipped to second place with 869 points.
After all, how did this happen in the ICC rankings?
The ICC’s ranking system does not just look at total runs but takes into account a number of factors including opposition, match circumstances, recent performances, consistency and manner of dismissals. In such a situation, it is believed that being out on zero on the very first ball in the second T20 proved to be heavy for Abhishek Sharma. This is the reason why despite his brilliant innings in the first match, his rating points fell and Ishan Kishan went ahead of him.
Ishan Kishan’s amazing feat in just 15 matches
Ishan Kishan, who returned to the T20 International team on January 21, 2026 after almost three years, may have started with 8 runs, but after that he did not look back. He scored 76 runs in the next match and then played a century of 103 runs in 43 balls. After this, in the T20 World Cup, he played an important role in India winning the title by scoring 61 runs against Namibia, 77 runs against Pakistan and 54 runs in 25 balls in the final. After his return, Ishan Kishan has scored 545 runs in 15 T20 matches. During this period his average was 36.33 and strike rate was around 200. He also scored 1 century and 4 half-centuries.
What loss did Abhishek Sharma suffer?
In contrast to Ishan Kishan’s excellent consistency, Abhishek Sharma has been out for a duck six times since his return. His consecutive duck outs had an impact on his ICC rating and ultimately he had to lose the number-1 position. However, both the batsmen are in excellent form and this battle for number-1 is expected to be even more exciting in the coming series.