T20I Rankings: Abhishek Sharma makes massive leap after his record-breaking performance in IND vs ENG 5th T20I

Team India batter Abhishek Sharma witnessed a massive jump in his T20I rankings after record-breaking performance in the fifth and final T20I of the recently concluded series against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. 

Abhishek Sharma lit up the Wankhede Stadium with his phenomenal innings of 135 off 54 balls at an impressive strike rate of 250. The 24-year-old launched a brutal assault on England bowlers who were left clueless in tackling his onslaught. During his brilliant performance, Abhishek Sharma achieved several records, including second-fastest T20I fifty and century by an Indian batter, most sixes to hit by Indian batter in a T20I innings, and also shattered Shubman Gill’s Indian record for the highest individual score in T20I. 

Also read: 'Haven't seen better T20 hundred': Gambhir lavishes praise on Abhishek's performance in IND vs ENG 5th T20I

In the latest T20I rankings released by International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, Abhishek Sharma jumped 38 places to claim the second spot with the ratings of 829 points, just 26 points behind the top-ranked T20I batter Travis Head. With Abhishek taking the second spot in the T20I batting rankings, his compatriot Tilak Varma slipped to third spot with the ratings of 803 points. India T20I captain Suryakumar moved down by a spot to take the 5th position in the latest T20I rankings. 

Other Indian players, including Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube witnessed a jump in their T20I all-rounder rankings. Hardik made five jumps to equal 51st position, while Dube made a massive 38 leaps to take the 58th spot, thanks to their brilliant performances in the T20I series against England. 

In the T20I bowling rankings, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy solidified his position as the highest ranked Indian bowler as he jumped three places to equal second spot alongside England spinner Adil Rashid with a rating of 705 points, just two points short of top-ranked T20I bowler Akeal Hossain. Even Ravi Bishnoi witnessed a jump in his rankings as he leaped 4 places to take the sixth spot with a rating of 671 points. Bishnoi has inched closer to break into top five in the T20I bowling rankings. 

Varun Chakravarthy was among the star performers for India in the 4-1 T20I series against England. Tamil Nadu was the highest wicket-taker of the series, scalping 14 wickets, including a five-wicket haul, at an average of 9.86 and an economy rate of 7.66 in five matches. Given his incredible bowling performance in the T20 leg of the white-ball series against England, Chakravarthy was added to India ODI squad for the three-match series against Jos Buttler-side. 

Also read: IND vs ENG: Varun Chakravarthy included in India ODI squad for series against England

In the Test batting rankings, Yashasvi Jaiswal (4th) and Rishabh Pant (9th) remained in the top 10. Virat Kohli moved a spot ahead to claim the 25th position, while India skipper Rohit Sharma remained unchanged at 42nd spot. In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah retained the top spot, while Ravindra Jadeja broke into top 10 again by taking the 9th position.