Hyderabad: Kishan and Head rise to top of ICC batting rankings

By Rohan Gupta — 1 July 2026 — 4 min read

Kishan’s Ascent in T20I Rankings

Ishan Kishan, an Indian batter, has achieved the top position in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings, displacing his teammate Abhishek Sharma. This marks the first time Kishan has reached the pinnacle of the T20I batting rankings. His rise follows a two-match series in Ireland, which the hosts won 2-0. Kishan now joins an exclusive group of Indian batters, including Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Sharma, who have previously held the number one spot in T20I cricket.

Sharma’s reign at the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings lasted for 11 months before Kishan’s recent ascent. The gap in rating points between Kishan and Sharma is currently narrow. Kishan’s strong form, including his performances at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year where he scored 317 runs with a strike rate close to 200, contributed to his climb. He was also named Player of the Match in a significant knock against Pakistan during the tournament.

Other notable movements in the T20I rankings include players from Ireland. Lorean Tucker, who scored a half-century in the first match against India, has moved up four places to 77th. Harry Tector advanced one place to 79th, and Ross Adair climbed six slots to 84th. Seam bowler Matthew Humphreys also saw an improvement, moving up one place to 25th after taking four wickets in the series. Additionally, India’s Shivam Dube rose to seventh in the all-rounders’ list.

Head Claims Top Test Batting Spot

In the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Australia batter Travis Head has moved to the top position. This achievement marks a career-first for Head, who displaced England‘s Harry Brook. The change in rankings occurred after the England pair of Joe Root and Brook had disappointing performances in the third Test against New Zealand. Head is the first Australian to lead the Test Batting Rankings since Marnus Labuschagne held the top spot before conceding it to Root in June 2023.

Root and Brook experienced a drop in their rating points, losing 31 and 14 points respectively. Head now holds 853 rating points, which is one point more than Brook. Root, who had recently begun his 12th stint at the top of the rankings, has slipped to third place. The third Test between England and New Zealand saw significant gains for several players from New Zealand.

Centurions from Nottingham, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway, and Tom Latham, all saw substantial gains in their rankings after their team secured a 2-1 victory in the ICC World Test Championship series. Mitchell moved up five places to 11th, Conway advanced 14 places to 15th, and Latham climbed 12 places to 31st. England opener Ben Duckett‘s first innings century helped him move from 17th to 14th place in the rankings.

Bowling Rankings and Other Movements

In the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings, Jasprit Bumrah has returned to the top spot. This follows Matt Henry losing one percent of his points tally after missing a match due to injury, just one week after he had claimed the top position. Nathan Smith, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series, moved up eight places to 38th, while William O’Rourke advanced five places to 27th.

England captain Ben Stokes concluded his Test career as the 34th-ranked bowler, having moved up three slots. He also finished as the third-ranked all-rounder, advancing two slots in that category. Stokes is currently ranked 54th in the Test batting rankings. The latest weekly update also considered performances from the first Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and the one-off Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

From Sri Lanka, Dhananjay de Silva moved up six places to 21st in the batting rankings. For the West Indies, Roston Chase advanced 14 places to 79th in batting. Among bowlers, the Windies pair of Shamar Joseph and Kemar Roach also saw gains, with Joseph moving up nine places to 14th and Roach four places to 17th. Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani gained six places to 19th in the bowling rankings.

These movements highlight a significant shake-up across both Test and T20I formats, reflecting recent performances in international cricket.

Source: icc-cricket.com

Rohan Gupta

Sports Reporter