Abhishek Sharma becomes No. 1 T20I batter, joins Virat Kohli in elite list of Indians

India's left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma is known for his exceptional strokeplay and explosive antics with the bat. In his short T20I career, Sharma has managed to raise the eyeballs and impressed the cricket world with his batting brilliance.

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The Punjab batter has now entered an elite list of batters, joining the likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. 

How many Indians have been ranked No. 1 in ICC T20I rankings?

Abhihsek Sharma joins Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir* in the list of Indians who have been ranked No.1 in T20Is.

Kohli has been at the top on several occasions, while Surya achieved the feat back in November 2022.

* As for Gambhir, Statsman Mohands Menon noted that the former Indian opener was at the top of the T20I rankings in 2007.

Gautam Gambhir to retire..
24-9-2007: #WT20 final 2007 at Jo'burg: made 75 - highest score of the match
2-4-2011: #CWC final 2011 at Mumbai: made 97 - highest score for India in the match
23-11-2007: ICC #1 T20I batsman
16-7-2009: ICC #1 Test batsman
4-12-2010: ICC #8 ODI batsman

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 4, 2018

Abishek Sharma's rise in T20I rankings

Sharma dethroned his fellow SRH opener, Travis Head, in the recent rankings. The Australian had held the position for more than a year but has now moved to second place on the charts after skipping the T20I series against the West Indies. 

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The Indian southpaw made his International debut in 2024, when India toured Zimbabwe, soon after the ICC Men's T20I World Cup. Sharma has played a total of 17 games for India, scoring 535 runs at an average of 33.43, including two centuries and two half-centuries. He holds the highest score of 135, which is also the highest individual T20I score by an Indian batter. 

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In his short T20I career, he achieved his highest T20I score earlier this year against England at the Wankhede Stadium, where he scored 135 in just 54 balls. The explosive opener brought up his century in just 10.1 overs, becoming the fastest ever to reach the milestone. 

ICC Men's T20I batting rankings (July 30, 2025)