Abrar Ahmed Slips to No. 2 in ICC T20I Bowling Rankings, 2 Points Behind Rashid Khan
Abrar Ahmed is No. 2 in the ICC T20I bowling rankings of 6 October, 718 to Rashid Khan's 720. See where Farhan, Saim Ayub and Babar Azam stand this week.
Pakistan's Abrar Ahmed has slipped to No. 2 in the ICC men's T20I bowling rankings, just 2 rating points behind Afghanistan's Rashid Khan. The ICC's player rankings dated 6 October 2026 put Rashid on 720 and Abrar on 718. Abrar had reached No. 1 for the first time on 23 September.
We opened the ICC's own ranking tables on 9 October, a few hours before the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. A 2-point gap is tiny. Three T20Is in five days give Abrar a real chance to take the top spot back.
Abrar Ahmed is 2 points behind Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan leads the ICC T20I bowling table on 720 points, and Abrar Ahmed is second on 718. Australia's Adam Zampa is third on 700. Mohammad Nawaz is the only other Pakistani in the top 20, at No. 12 on 645.
| Rank | Bowler | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 720 |
| 2 | Abrar Ahmed | Pakistan | 718 |
| 3 | Adam Zampa | Australia | 700 |
| 4 | Adil Rashid | England | 695 |
| 5 | Nathan Ellis | Australia | 675 |
| 12 | Mohammad Nawaz | Pakistan | 645 |
Abrar's career-best rating is 757, the ICC table shows, set against the Netherlands in Colombo in 2026. So he is 39 points below his own peak. The PCB announced on 23 September that he had overtaken Rashid for No. 1 for the first time in his career. The latest table shows the two have swapped places again.
The ICC page does not explain why the order changed. Ratings move with every match a player plays or misses, so we have not guessed at a reason.
Pakistan players in the ICC rankings this week
Pakistan have a player in the top three of three different ICC tables. Sahibzada Farhan is No. 3 among T20I batters, Saim Ayub is No. 2 among T20I all-rounders, and Abrar is No. 2 in both the T20I and ODI bowling lists.
| Player | Ranking table | Rank | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan | T20I batting | 3 | 818 |
| Abrar Ahmed | T20I bowling | 2 | 718 |
| Saim Ayub | T20I all-rounder | 2 | 293 |
| Babar Azam | ODI batting | 7 | 689 |
| Abrar Ahmed | ODI bowling | 2 | 675 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | ODI bowling | 8 | 604 |
Rashid Khan is No. 1 in the ODI bowling list too, 39 points ahead of Abrar on 714 against 675. That gap is far bigger than in T20Is. In ODI batting, Salman Ali Agha is No. 13 on 630. Mohammad Nawaz is No. 11 among T20I all-rounders, on 196.
The Sri Lanka series is Abrar's chance to go back to No. 1
Abrar is in the squad for three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on 9, 11 and 13 October. Rashid Khan has no match in this series. Good figures for Abrar could close a 2-point gap quickly.
Abrar is in the Pakistan T20I squad led by Sahibzada Farhan, along with Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan. Mohammad Nawaz is not in this squad, so his rating will not move during the series.
Rankings are not updated live. The ICC publishes updated player rankings after matches are completed, so the effect of the Sri Lanka games will show in a later table.
How to check the ICC rankings yourself
The ICC publishes every men's and women's ranking table on its official website, free. Each table shows a rank date, so you can tell how fresh it is. Social media posts often show old tables, so always check the date.
- Open icc-cricket.com and choose Rankings from the menu.
- Pick men's or women's, then the format: Test, ODI or T20I.
- Choose batting, bowling, all-rounder or team rankings.
- Look for the "Rank date" line to see which update you are reading.
- Use the search or scroll to find a player, since only the top 20 load at first.
Team rankings use a different date. When we checked, Pakistan were sixth in the men's T20I team table and fifth in the ODI team table.
What to watch in the next update
Three things will tell you how the Sri Lanka series went for Pakistan's ranked players. First, whether Abrar's rating passes Rashid's 720. Second, whether Farhan, now captain, holds his place in the top three batters. Third, whether Saim Ayub closes the gap on Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza, the No. 1 all-rounder on 321.
The 1st T20I preview has the conditions and the match officials for Friday's game.
Common questions
Who is the No. 1 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings?
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, on 720 points, in the ICC rankings dated 6 October 2026.
What is Abrar Ahmed's ICC T20I ranking?
No. 2, on 718 points, 2 points behind Rashid Khan.
Was Abrar Ahmed ever No. 1 in T20Is?
Yes. The PCB said on 23 September 2026 that he had reached No. 1 for the first time.
Which Pakistan batter is highest in the T20I rankings?
Sahibzada Farhan, at No. 3 with 818 points.
Where is Babar Azam in the ODI batting rankings?
No. 7, on 689 points, in the ICC table of 6 October 2026.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 9 October 2026 at about 15:30 PKT. All ranks, ratings and career-best figures are from the ICC's official men's player ranking tables for T20I batting, bowling and all-rounders and ODI batting and bowling on icc-cricket.com, with a rank date of 6 October 2026. Team positions are from the ICC team tables read the same day. Abrar's first rise to No. 1 is from the PCB's media release of 23 September 2026. The point gaps are our own sums.
About the author
Senior Writer, Public Services and Technology
Shahid joined us in 2024 as an author. He is a senior contributor to Pakistan's leading technology websites. He writes detailed articles, mostly covering his expertise in the latest tech, mobiles, apps, gadgets, and step-by-step guides. His ideology is to help people understand the latest trends and explain complex methods through very easy-to-understand guides.
