Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed has climbed to the top of the International Cricket Council’s Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings, dislodging Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan from a position the leg-spinner had held for six months, according to Dawn and Geo News.
The rankings update, released on September 23, puts Abrar on 736 rating points — just one point clear of Rashid Khan’s 735 — after the Afghan leg-spinner’s “unimpressive outing against India” cost him ground at the top, Dawn reported. It is about as tight as a gap at the summit of a global bowling chart can get, meaning Abrar’s grip on the No. 1 spot could change hands again in the very next ranking cycle.
According to Dawn, Abrar becomes only the fifth Pakistani bowler in history to be ranked world No. 1 in T20I bowling, joining a list that includes Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Imad Wasim.
The mystery spinner has been in prolific white-ball form through 2026, picking up 15 wickets in nine T20I appearances this year, Geo News reported. His standout contribution came during Pakistan’s 3-0 home series sweep of Australia in January-February, where he took six wickets across the series.
“When you start playing cricket, you have only one dream — to represent Pakistan. Once you achieve that, the next dream is to become world number one,” Abrar said, according to Dawn, crediting his rise to a sharper focus on consistency in his bowling variations.
| Rank | Bowler | Country | Rating Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abrar Ahmed | Pakistan | 736 |
| 2 | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 735 |
| 3 | Adam Zampa | Australia | — |
| 8 | Mohammad Nawaz | Pakistan | 658 |
| 18 | Salman Mirza | Pakistan | 636 |
| 33 | Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan | 602 |
Abrar isn’t Pakistan’s only representative near the top of the T20I bowling charts. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz sits 8th with 658 points, Salman Mirza is 18th on 636, and pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi rounds out the group at 33rd with 602 points, according to Geo News — giving Pakistan four bowlers inside the world’s top 35 in the format.
The same rankings update flagged a landmark run for England’s Harry Brook, who is closing in on a rare feat of ranking in the top 10 across all three formats simultaneously: he is already No. 1 in Test batting and has climbed to a career-best No. 4 in T20Is, according to CricketAddictor. Separately, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan held onto third spot in the T20I batting rankings with 848 points, behind India’s Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
Our Opinion
A one-point gap at the top of a global bowling ranking is more curiosity than certainty — it could change hands again within a cycle or two — but Abrar Ahmed’s rise still reflects something durable: Pakistan now has four bowlers inside the world’s top 35 in the T20I rankings, a spread of white-ball bowling depth the side hasn’t always been able to claim. The real measure of this achievement won’t be how long Abrar holds the No. 1 spot on paper, but whether that collective bowling depth translates into fewer close matches lost and more series won the next time Pakistan’s white-ball side is tested.
