Abrar Ahmed climbs to No. 4 in ICC T20I bowling Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed has made another impressive climb in the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings, extending his exceptional form in the UAE.

After rising 11 places last week, the leg-spinner has made another impressive jump of 12 places to take himself to No. 4 with 703 rating points, just a stone’s throw from the top position.

Abrar’s performance was impressive during Pakistan’s group stage match against the UAE, taking two wickets for just 13 runs. However, he had a less than ideal game against India, finishing with 1/42 in Pakistan’s loss. But the 25-year-old made a swift comeback with a brilliant spell of 1/8 against Sri Lanka, playing a key role in Pakistan’s victory, which revived their Asia Cup campaign.

While Abrar is on his way to the No. 1 spot, it will not be an easy task, as India’s Varun Chakravarthy remains a formidable force in the UAE conditions. Chakravarthy, despite going wicketless against Pakistan, delivered an economical performance, taking 0/25 and helping India control the scoring rate, which earned him a 14 rating points increase.

Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf has also made significant progress, moving up nine places to 28th in the rankings. India’s all-rounder Hardik Pandya has climbed six places to 60th.

In the batting rankings, India’s opener Abhishek Sharma continues to lead the way, having made significant strides after his 38 against Oman and match-winning 74 against Pakistan that guided India to victory. His partner, Tilak Verma, who completed the chase with a quickfire 30* off 19 balls, moved up to No. 3 in the rankings.

Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan made a dramatic leap, moving up 31 places to No. 24 after scoring 58 off 45 balls against India. Hussain Talat, who anchored Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka with a composed innings, jumped a significant 1,474 places to reach No. 234 in the rankings.

Bangladesh’s Saif Hasan also enjoyed considerable progress, moving up 133 places to No. 81 after his crucial 61 in Bangladesh’s Super Four victory in the Asia Cup.

All-rounder Faheem Ashraf, who has been playing a key role with both bat and ball in the ongoing Asia Cup, made a significant gain, climbing 12 places to No. 39 in the ICC Men’s T20I All-Rounder Rankings.