Kishan replaces Abhishek Sharma as top T20I batter; Head leads Test rankings

By Rohan Gupta — 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, replacing his teammate Abhishek Sharma. This change follows India’s recent 2-0 series defeat against Ireland in Belfast. Kishan’s rise marks the first time he has reached the summit of the T20I batting rankings, making him the fourth player from his country to achieve this feat, following Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Abhishek Sharma.

Kishan’s strong performances at the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this year contributed to his improved rating. During the tournament, he accumulated 317 runs with a strike rate close to 200. His new career-best rating was confirmed in the latest ICC rankings update.

Changes in Test batting rankings

In Test cricket, Australia batter Travis Head has moved to the top of the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings. This marks the first time Head has achieved the number one spot in his career. His ascent comes after England players Joe Root and Harry Brook experienced drops in their ratings following their performances in the third Test against New Zealand.

Root and Brook lost 31 and 14 points respectively. Head now holds 853 rating points, placing him just one point ahead of Brook. Root, who had recently begun his 12th stint at the top of the rankings, has now slipped to third place.

Other batters also saw movements in the Test rankings. New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell moved up five places to 11th, Devon Conway advanced 14 places to 15th, and Tom Latham climbed 12 places to 31st after their team secured a 2-1 victory in the ICC World Test Championship series. England opener Ben Duckett’s first innings century helped him move from 17th to 14th place.

Bowling and all-rounder movements

In the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings, Jasprit Bumrah has reclaimed the top spot. This occurred after Matt Henry lost a percentage of his points due to missing a match because of injury, just one week after he had taken the top position. Nathan Smith, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series, moved up eight places to 38th, while William O’Rourke 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 rose two slots to become the third-ranked all-rounder, while holding the 54th position in the Test batting rankings.

The latest weekly update also considered performances from the first Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and the one-off Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka’s Dhananjay de Silva moved up six places to 21st in the batting rankings, and West Indies’ Roston Chase climbed 14 places to 79th. Among bowlers, the Windies pair of Shamar Joseph and Kemar Roach gained positions, moving up nine places to 14th and four places to 17th respectively, while Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani advanced six places to 19th.

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

Source: icc-cricket.com