Pakistan cricket has a new headline-maker, and his name is Saim Ayub. The young opener has stormed back to the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20I All-Rounder Rankings on the back of his dominant performance in the recent home series against Australia.
Saim Ayub reclaims No.1 T20I All-Rounder spot ahead of T20 World Cup 2026
Saim Ayub’s rise came after Pakistan’s perfect 3-0 series sweep over Australia, where he played a massive role with both bat and ball. The 23-year-old piled up 119 runs across the three-match T20I series and also chipped in with three crucial wickets, proving his value as a genuine match-winner.
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With his stunning performance against Australia in the home series, Ayub had dethroned Zimbabwe’s experienced all-rounder Sikandar Raza to once again become the world’s No. 1 all-rounder in T20I cricket. Raza has now slipped to the second spot in the latest ICC T20I Rankings.
Ayub’s fearless batting at the top and handy off-spin bowling turned him into one of Pakistan’s most exciting weapons in the shorter format of the game. His form will be key for Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 as they aim for their second title, having won this cup back in 2009.
Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz lead the bowling rise in latest ICC T20I Rankings
Apart from Saim Ayub, strong performances against Australia have seen several Pakistani players making jumps in the latest ICC T20I Rankings across bowling, batting, and all-rounder charts.
Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed has made a huge move in the bowlers list. After picking up six wickets in three matches against Australia, he has climbed two places to reach second position. He is now only 28 rating points behind the top-ranked T20I bowler, Varun Chakravarthy of India.
Another Pakistani star, Mohammad Nawaz, jumped eight places to reach seventh spot in the bowlers list after taking five wickets in the final T20I against Australia. The left-arm spinner has also improved his position in the all-rounders’ chart, moving up one spot to fourth in the latest ICC T20I Rankings.
Saim Ayub shines as batting rankings see global movement
Speaking about the batters in the updated ICC T20I Rankings, Saim Ayub made a strong rise by climbing eight places to join 27th, while his captain, Salman Ali Agha, jumped an impressive 12 spots to reach 29th in the rankings.
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Indian opener Abhishek Sharma remained the number one T20I batter in the world. There were changes in the Top-10, as England’s Jos Buttler moved up to third, Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka climbed to fifth, India’s Suryakumar Yadav rose to sixth, and New Zealand’s Tim Seifert reached ninth.
The latest ICC T20I Rankings now feature batters from seven different countries inside the top 11. Meanwhile, Australia all-rounder Cameron Green climbed 16 places to reach 14th in the batters rankings, while South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock moved up 15 spots to share the 22nd spot with his teammate Aiden Markram with 599 rating points.
India’s Ishan Kishan surged 32 places to 32nd, and South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton made one of the biggest jumps, climbing 42 places to reach 40th in the latest rankings. On the other hand, England spinner Adil Rashid rose two places to fourth, while New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner jumped eight spots to joint 23rd in the bowlers rankings.
