Saim Ayub Dethrones Hardik Pandya to Become the No.1 All-rounder in the Latest ICC T20I Rankings

Pakistan’s evolving star Saim Ayub has surged to the top of the ICC T20I all-rounder rankings. He achieved this major milestone after showcasing solid performances in the Asia Cup 2025. The young Karachi-born batter proved his mettle in both batting and bowling during the Asia Cup. His outstanding performances have now given him a top spot among the current elite all-rounders of the game.

Saim dethroned India’s Hardik Pandya in the latest reshuffle of the ICC rankings. He moved up four places to the top by showcasing all-round cricketing skills during the Asia Cup, as well as other series that commenced before the tournament.

With the bat, Saim Ayub didn’t enjoy a great tournament, as he made only 37 runs in seven innings. However, with the ball, Saim Ayub was pure class. He took eight wickets in six innings, giving the Pakistan team a very handy option in spin bowling. His presence proved vital for Pakistan, as the expertise with both bat and ball allowed Saim to become a very handy cricketer in the Playing XI of the green shirts.

Speaking about other notable changes, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi has come down to the third position in the latest ICC T20I all-rounder rankings. The veteran Afghan cricketer also didn’t have a great outing in the Asia Cup 2025, which eventually became the reason for his downfall in ranking.

In the batting charts, India’s Abhishek Sharma made a huge breakthrough. He secured 931 rating points  after scoring a superlative fifty against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Asia Cup. This is a record high in the T20I batting rankings, as the earlier one was secured by Dawid Malan with 919 rating points in 2020.

Abhishek Sharma remained the star of the Indian batting in the Asia Cup 2025. He scored 314 runs in the tournament at an average of 44.85. Due to these spectacular numbers, Abhishek also clinched the Player-of-the-Tournament award at the end of the Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, in the bowling rankings, India’s Varun Chakravarthy retained the No.1 spot. Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, jumped to the 12th position after having a stellar Asia Cup tournament. He played an instrumental role in the final of the tournament, in which India defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets.