Reporting snapshot · 24 September 2026. Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed has climbed to No 1 in the ICC men's T20I bowling rankings after the latest update, the first time in his career that he has held the top spot. He displaced Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, who had spent six months at the summit. The rankings were published by the ICC on 23 September; the figures below are a dated snapshot and can shift after every completed international match.
What happened
Pakistan’s leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed has become the world’s No 1-ranked bowler in Twenty20 internationals after the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings update, Geo News reported. Abrar climbed to the top of the T20I bowling list on 736 rating points, ending the six-month reign of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who dropped to second place. Australia’s Adam Zampa moved up one spot to third.
The 28-year-old Karachi-born mystery spinner is the fifth Pakistani bowler to top the T20I bowling rankings, The Express Tribune reported, joining Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi. Rashid Khan slipped a single point behind Abrar’s tally after what reports described as an ordinary outing in Afghanistan’s recent series against India, ending his stint at the top.
Abrar has taken 133 international wickets across formats, with 10 Test, 19 ODI and 38 T20I appearances for Pakistan, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. He is also ranked second in the ODI bowling list, 39 rating points behind Rashid Khan, who holds the top position in that format.
Why it matters
The milestone restores a Pakistani bowler to the top of the world’s shortest-format bowling table for the first time since the run of Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi. For a Pakistan side that has spent much of 2026 managing injuries, leadership changes and inconsistent results across formats, a world No 1 in the bowling attack offers a rare piece of unambiguous good news, The News International noted.
The timing also matters. Abrar is part of the Pakistan squad for the men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, which begins this week, and the Pakistan team under captain Sahibzada Farhan opens its campaign in the quarter-finals on 28 September. The team’s preparation, its young squad and the path to a possible meeting with India were covered in KhabarWire’s report on coach Mike Hesson’s remarks. Abrar’s ranking is not a substitute for results — Pakistan was beaten in the Asia Cup final by India last year and has lost a string of recent encounters with India — but it gives the bowling group a marquee name as the side heads into a major tournament.
What the new rankings show
Abrar now leads the T20I bowling list on 736 points, one point clear of Rashid Khan. The News International’s round-up listed the wider Pakistani movement in the update: Mohammad Nawaz retained eighth place on 658 points, Salman Mirza slipped one spot to 18th on 636, and Shaheen Shah Afridi dropped a place to 33rd on 602. Usman Tariq climbed two places to 57th, Sufiyan Muqeem rose one to 63rd, and Haris Rauf gained two places to reach 86th.
In the batting list, Geo News reported that Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan retained third place on 848 rating points behind India’s Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma. Saim Ayub climbed two places to 39th, Babar Azam moved up two to 41st, and Salman Ali Agha held 45th.
England’s Harry Brook climbed to a career-best fourth among T20I batters after his side’s 3-0 series sweep of Sri Lanka, The Express Tribune reported, with Jos Buttler moving up two places to fifth.
What Abrar said
Talking to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s digital platform from Karachi, where the Asian Games squad was completing a four-day training camp, Abrar described the achievement as a long-held ambition. “When you start playing cricket, you have only one dream to represent Pakistan,” the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying. “Once you achieve that, the next dream is to become world number one. I feel very proud to become the world number one bowler while representing Pakistan. I will continue working hard to achieve more success and win more matches for Pakistan.”
He credited consistency as the area he had worked to improve. “In the past, I had variations in my bowling, but consistency was an area I needed to improve. I worked hard on my consistency and that work has helped me improve a lot,” he said, adding that his team-mates had given him confidence throughout.
What is still uncertain
The No 1 ranking is a live position rather than a permanent title. Abrar leads by a single point, and any future international outing — for Pakistan at the Asian Games or for Afghanistan by Rashid Khan — can move the two spinners within the list. Pakistan’s participation in the Asian Games men’s competition begins with the quarter-finals on 28 September, and the board has not confirmed how the T20I leadership will be arranged for the subsequent home series against Sri Lanka in October, after Salman Ali Agha’s position came under scrutiny following the T20 World Cup.
Rankings are an indicator of recent performance, not a guarantee of form. Abrar’s early international career has been marked by sharp highs — a standout Test debut against England in December 2022, a 3-0 T20I clean sweep over Australia in early 2026 in which he took six wickets in three matches, and now a world No 1 in the shortest format — but he has also had to manage the workload across three formats for a Pakistan side whose Test team is still searching for consistency. Whether the ranking translates into match-winning performances at the Asian Games remains to be seen.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 24 September 2026.
- Geo News — Abrar Ahmed overtakes Rashid Khan to become top ranked T20I bowler23 September 2026 · Confirms the No 1 ranking on 736 points, the full Pakistani rankings movement and Sahibzada Farhan's batting position.
- The News International — Abrar tops ICC T20I bowling ranking24 September 2026 · Confirms 736 rating points, the fifth-Pakistani milestone and detailed Pakistani bowlers' and batters' movements.
- The Express Tribune — Abrar storms to No1 in T20I rankings23 September 2026 · Confirms the fifth-Pakistani milestone and Harry Brook's and Jos Buttler's batting moves.
- Associated Press of Pakistan — Abrar Ahmed sits top of ICC Men's T20I rankings24 September 2026 · Confirms career record, ODI ranking and Abrar's quotes to PCB Digital.
