Despite a 2-1 series loss to Bangladesh, there was a silver lining for Pakistan’s T20I side in the latest ICC rankings update, as rising stars Sahibzada Farhan and Hasan Nawaz made notable leaps in the batting charts.
Farhan, who impressed in his only game during the recent series, rocketed up 69 places to break into the top 100 T20I batters globally. He now sits at 97th with 389 points—his highest career ranking to date. The 29-year-old opener’s rise signals growing depth in Pakistan’s limited-overs batting options.
Even more striking was Hasan Nawaz’s climb. After shaking off a rough start, the middle-order batter moved up 14 spots to share 54th position with South Africa’s David Miller, both holding 500 ranking points. Nawaz’s surge comes after a string of confidence-laced innings that added much-needed spark to Pakistan’s middle order.
T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha also moved up two places to 91st in the latest T20I rankings, while young opener Saim Ayub now ranks 62nd after gaining two spots.
However, the rankings were less kind to some of Pakistan’s established batters. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan continued to slip—Babar to 14th and Rizwan to 16th after being away from the team. Meanwhile, Mohammad Haris suffered the steepest fall among Pakistani batters, dropping 15 places to 65th with 476 points, while Fakhar Zaman dipped two spots to 81st.
ICC T20I Batters Rankings:
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abhishek Sharma | India | 829 |
| 2 | Travis Head | Australia | 814 |
| 3 | Tilak Varma | India | 804 |
| 4 | Phil Salt | England | 791 |
| 5 | Jos Buttler | England | 772 |
In the bowling department, no Pakistani player features in the global top 20. Haris Rauf and Abbas Afridi each fell two places, now ranking 26th and 24th respectively. Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up one place to 35th, while Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed each dropped two places to 67th and 51st.
New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy retained his number one position among T20I bowlers, with England’s Adil Rashid and India’s Varun Chakravarthy following close behind.
ICC Bowlers Rankings:
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Duffy | New Zealand | 717 |
| 2 | Adil Rashid | England | 710 |
| 3 | Varun Chakaravarthy | India | 706 |
| 4 | Akeal Hosein | West Indies | 701 |
| 5 | Adam Zampa | Australia | 694 |
The rankings shift will likely not bother anyone, especially after Mike Hesson’s assurances, that it is not what his team is after. The Pakistan team’s focus is on a packed T20I calendar leading up to the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Their next challenge will be against the West Indies starting Friday, with the ICC T20I rankings being the furthest thing from the team’s mind.
Stay Connected with ProPakistani
Get the latest sports news, match updates, and player stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
