Kishan replaces Sharma as top T20I batter; Head ri...

By Ishaan Kapoor — 1 July 2026 — 3 min read

Ishan Kishan, the India wicketkeeper-batter, has ascended to the top position in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings. This marks the first time Kishan has reached this milestone, making him the fourth player from his country to achieve this feat. He replaces his teammate Abhishek Sharma, whose 11-month tenure at the top has concluded.

Kishan’s rise follows India’s recent two-match T20 International series against Ireland, which India lost 2-0 in Belfast. His performance at the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this year contributed significantly to his improved rating, where he accumulated 317 runs with a strike rate of almost 200.

Other India batters who have previously held the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings include Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Abhishek Sharma.

Changes in Test Batting Rankings

In the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Australia batter Travis Head has moved to the number one position. This is the first time Head has topped the Test batting rankings in his career. His ascent comes after disappointing performances from England players Joe Root and Harry Brook in the third Test against New Zealand.

Root and Brook experienced a drop in their rating points. Head now holds 853 rating points, placing him one point ahead of Brook. Root has slipped to third place, just one week after beginning his 12th period at the top of the rankings. Head is the first Australian to lead the Test Batting Rankings since Marnus Labuschagne held the top spot in June 2023.

Several players from New Zealand also saw improvements in their rankings following their team’s 2-1 victory in the ICC World Test Championship series. Daryl Mitchell advanced five places to 11th, Devon Conway moved up 14 places to 15th, and Tom Latham climbed 12 places to 31st, all benefiting from their performances, including centuries scored in Nottingham.

England opener Ben Duckett’s first innings century in the same match helped him move from 17th to 14th place in the rankings.

Bowling and All-Rounder Updates

In the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings, Jasprit Bumrah has regained the top spot. This follows Matt Henry’s absence from the Nottingham Test due to injury, which resulted in a one percent loss of his points tally. Henry had only recently taken the top position from Bumrah a week prior.

Other notable movements in the bowling rankings include Nathan Smith, who finished the series as the leading wicket-taker and moved up eight places to 38th. William O’Rourke also advanced five places to 27th.

England captain Ben Stokes concluded his Test career as the 34th-ranked bowler, having moved up three slots. He also improved his position in the all-rounder rankings, moving up two slots to become the third-ranked all-rounder. In the Test batting rankings, Stokes is positioned at 54th.

The latest weekly update also incorporated performances from the first Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka, as well as the one-off Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. From these matches, Sri Lanka’s Dhananjay de Silva moved up six places to 21st in batting, and West Indies’ Roston Chase climbed 14 places to 79th.

Among bowlers, the Windies pair of Shamar Joseph and Kemar Roach also saw gains. Joseph advanced nine places to 14th, while Roach moved up four places to 17th. Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani also improved his ranking, moving up six places to 19th.

In the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings, following the series against India, Ireland’s Lorean Tucker, who scored a half-century in the first match, moved up four places to 77th. Harry Tector inched up one place to 79th, and Ross Adair climbed six slots to 84th. Seam bowler Matthew Humphreys also saw an improvement, moving up one place to 25th after taking four wickets in the series.

NewsIndia

Kishan replaces Sharma as top T20I batter; Head rises in Test rankings

Changes in Test Batting Rankings

Bowling and All-Rounder Updates

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Ishaan Kapoor