Abhishek Sharma two points behind his career-best ratings:Suryakumar Yadav breaks into top ten, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya also make gains

Only ten remain before India begin their title defence in the T20 World Cup 2026. Many key players of India, including captain Suryakumar Yadav, made gains in the ICC T20I rankings released on Wednesday. World’s number 1-ranked T20I batsman Abhishek Sharma continues to sit pretty atop the standings, as he closed in on his career-best ratings. Following a pair of half-centuries across the first two games of the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand, Sharma took his ratings to 929 points. He is only two rating points shy of his career-best of 931, which he achieved during the Asia Cup 2025. Abhishek, Tilak and Surya in top ten Phil Salt is at number 2, followed by Abhishek’s compatriot Tilak Varma. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav rose five places and jumped to number 7 in the T20I rankings, following strong displays against New Zealand. Jasprit Bumrah also gained four places to reach number 13 in the T20I bowlers rankings, while Varun Chakaravarthy continues to lead the list. Hardik Pandya (up one spot to third) and Shivam Dube (up six rungs to 11th) also rose in the T20I rankings, led by veteran Sikandar Raza. T20 World Cup 2026 begins on 7 February Team India will begin their World Cup campaign on 7 February against the USA, followed by matches against Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. The defending champions will hope to retain their title on home soil, even though no team has ever defended the World Cup crown, and no team has ever won the trophy at home.