ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed has reached the No. 1 in ICC T20I bowling rankings for the first time in his career, ending Afghanistan star Rashid Khan’s six-month stay at the top of the standings.
Abrar now leads the rankings with 736 rating points, while Rashid has dropped one point behind following a below-par performance against India. The milestone marks a significant achievement for the Pakistan spinner, who has steadily established himself across formats.
Abrar Ahmed Becomes No. 1 in ICC T20I Bowling Rankings
The 28-year-old has become only the fifth Pakistan bowler to reach the summit of the T20I bowling rankings. He joins an exclusive group that includes Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi.
Born in Karachi, Abrar has represented Pakistan in 10 Tests, 19 ODIs and 38 T20Is, claiming 133 international wickets across the three formats. His rise in the T20I rankings has come alongside strong performances in limited-overs cricket.
Abrar is also currently second in the ODI bowling rankings, sitting 39 rating points behind Rashid, who remains at the top in that format.
The right-arm spinner has played nine T20Is for Pakistan this year and picked up 15 wickets. Six of those wickets came during Pakistan’s three-match home series against Australia, which Pakistan won 3-0 across January and February.
A Long-Held Ambition Realised
Abrar described reaching the top of the T20I rankings as the fulfilment of a dream he has carried since the beginning of his cricket career.
“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,” he said, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s digital platform.
“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.”
The spinner also highlighted consistency as one of the main areas he had worked on to improve his bowling.
“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,” Abrar said.
Focus Turns to Asian Games
Abrar is currently part of Pakistan’s Asian Games squad, which is attending a four-day training camp in Karachi ahead of the competition in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
With another major assignment approaching, the spinner has set his sights on contributing to Pakistan’s success and helping the team challenge for the gold medal.
“My aim is to perform well and help my team win matches and return to Pakistan with a gold medal,” he said.
