Abhishek Sharma moves to No.2 in ICC T20I batting rankings after New Delhi start

Abhishek Sharma climbed to second place in the latest ICC T20I batting rankings after his explosive start to India’s ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which began in New Delhi; the rankings update was published on 2026-09-16.

He displaced Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan to move into the No.2 position, leaving only India team-mate Ishan Kishan ahead of him in the standings.

Sharma’s rise was driven by an 82 off 32 balls in the series opener, an innings that helped India chase Afghanistan’s 156 with seven wickets and 38 balls to spare to claim a seven-wicket victory.

He followed that with 39 off 19 in the second T20I as India again won by seven wickets to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series; those two innings have produced 121 runs for him so far.

Sanju Samson returned to form in the second match, scoring 57 off 22 and moving up four places to 30th in the ICC T20I batting rankings, while India chased down Afghanistan’s 159 in 14.5 overs to seal the series with a match to spare.

The latest rankings list Ishan Kishan at No.1, Abhishek at No.2 and Sahibzada Farhan at No.3, with Abhishek 51 rating points behind Kishan, keeping the two Indians at the top of the T20I batting chart; Abhishek has previously held the No.1 spot and the ICC recorded an Indian 1-2 at the top in March with Abhishek and Kishan occupying the leading positions.

With one T20I still remaining in the Afghanistan series, Abhishek has another opportunity to close the 51-point gap on Kishan; the third and final match of the series is still to be played.