He took over Dawid Malan's long-standing position from five years.
India’s rising sensation Abhishek Sharma has scripted history by becoming the player with the highest rating in the ICC Men’s T20I batting rankings. The accolades continue to flow for Abhishek, who leapfrogged current and former India captains Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli to top the all-time charts.
The 25-year-old’s aggressive batting style and ability to take down both spin and pace equally well make him among the top T20I batters in the world. He is also the face of India’s new approach in the shortest format.
Here’s a look at the Top 5 highest ICC T20I batting rankings of all time:
Abhishek Sharma has broken a record that was owned by Dawid Malan of England for nearly five years. The Indian star’s rating of 931 has taken him past Malan’s 919 points, which he had achieved in 2020. In the process, he also surpassed the previous best ratings by India batters Suryakumar (912) and Kohli (909).
Notably, Abhishek’s previous highest rating was 907, which he achieved after scoring 74 off 39 balls against Pakistan on September 21. The swashbuckling opener climbed to 931 points after a blistering fifty during India’s emphatic win against Sri Lanka in the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2025. He was eventually adjudged the Player of the Tournament after topping the runs chart with 314 runs, including three half-centuries at an average of 44.85 and a strike rate of exactly 200.
Since his T20I debut, Abhishek has been a standout performer. He is the country’s leading run-getter in the calendar year, with 593 runs that include a hundred and four half-centuries. His strike rate of 208.80 and averaging 49.41 with 41 sixes underline his impact at the top of the order.
Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin even claimed that this is just the beginning of Abhishek’s era and has all the credentials to carry forward Yuvraj Singh’s white-ball legacy.
“Take that in writing. He has so much ability, just like how Yuvraj Singh became India’s marquee white-ball cricketer. The best white-ball batter in limited-overs cricket for India. He can reach that level easily. I think he is going to carry Yuvraj’s legacy forward. He is a phenomenal talent,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
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The former English batter Dawid Malan was the fourth batter to breach the 900-point barrier. He was considered the gold standard in T20 batting until England shifted to an ultra-aggressive and all-rounders-centric approach. He achieved his park in 2020, reaching the rating of 919 points. The left-hand batter reached the top spot after scoring 173 runs in a three-match T20I series against South Africa, including knocks of 55 and 99.
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut after turning 30. But there has been no stopping him ever since. He reached his peak in 2022 when he climbed to 912 rating points. The right-hander had racked up 1,164 runs in 31 innings, averaging a whopping 46.56, with two hundreds and nine fifties. He achieved his best career rating after 112 off 51 balls in the series decider against Sri Lanka in Rajkot. Known for audacious strokeplay and aggressive batting style, SKY redefined T20I batting standards of Indian cricket, earning himself the name of India’s Mr. 360. He is now set to lead India in the T20 World Cup 2026 at home.
Maintaining an average of almost 49 in T20Is for 125 matches isn’t any task, but Virat Kohli did it with ease. Kohli’s prime form in T20Is came in 2014 as he became the first player to breach the 900-point mark. That year, the former India skipper amassed the second most (385) runs in a calendar year, including five fifties, at a staggering average of 96.25 and a strike rate of 133.68. He was exceptional in the T20 World Cup that year, however, India lost in the final to Sri Lanka. He remains the only cricketer to cross 900+ rating across formats, having achieved a 937 rating points in Tests and 909 rating points in ODIs in 2018.
Australia’s former T20I captain Aaron Finch was the second cricketer to cross the 900-point mark. The opener was known for his explosive starts and his fearless approach. His best score of 172 off 76 balls against Zimbabwe remains the highest individual score in T20I cricket. In 2018, Finch recorded 531 runs at 40.84 and a strike rate of 176.41 that included a century against Zimbabwe and two fifties. He hit the second most sixes that year, only behind Colin Munro of New Zealand. Three years later, in 2021, Finch led Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup title.
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