1st Jul, 2026
Team India batter Ishan Kishan became the world’s top-ranked batter in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings for the first time in his career, following the two-match T20I Series against Ireland. Ishan (876 points) overtook teammate and opening batter Abhishek Sharma (869 points) at the top of the rankings, after Abhishek held the spot for close to a year.
Ishan thus joined Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, and Abhishek in an elite list of Indian batters to have claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
The 27-year-old’s rise also means that two Team India players currently hold the top spot in the T20I rankings, with Sree Charani being named the No. 1 ranked bowler in the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings only a few days ago.
Ishan made a comeback into the T20I side in the home series against New Zealand in January 2026 and made an immediate impact, scoring 215 runs in just four innings at an average of 53.75 and a strike-rate of 231.18, including his maiden T20I hundred. He then carried that form into Team India’s historic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 title-winning campaign, scoring 317 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of close to 200 and a Player of the Match performance against Pakistan in the group stage.
Ishan currently has 1341 T20I runs after 47 innings at an impressive strike-rate of 146.87, including 10 half-centuries and a hundred.
