Chakaravarthy spins to T20I No.1 spot

Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy created history on Wednesday by becoming the world’s No.1 ranked T20I bowler for the first time. The 34-year-old climbed three spots in the latest ICC rankings, joining Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi as only the third Indian to reach the top.

Chakaravarthy’s rise came after his miserly spells of 1/4 against the UAE and 1/24 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. He displaced New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, who had been at the top since March. Chakaravarthy’s previous career-best was No.2 in February this year.

Among other Indian bowlers, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav made big gains, moving up 16 places to 23rd, while Axar Patel is now 12th. Bumrah also improved, rising to 40th.

In the all-rounders’ list, Hardik Pandya continues to hold the No.1 spot, while Abhishek Sharma climbed to 14th. Abhishek also retained the No.1 position among T20I batters after quickfire knocks of 30 (16) against UAE and 31 (13) against Pakistan, reaching a career-high 884 rating points. His partner Shubman Gill jumped to 39th.

However, Tilak Varma slipped to fourth, Suryakumar Yadav dropped to seventh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to 13th. England’s Phil Salt and Jos Buttler also rose to second and third following explosive innings against South Africa.