LAHORE: Spinner Abrar Ahmed has achieved the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings announced by the ICC. The 28-year-old, who has featured in 10 Tests, 19 ODIs and 38 T20Is to date, has 133 international wickets to his name.
Abrar has reached the number one spot for the first time in his career, overtaking Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. He is also ranked second in the ODI bowling rankings, while Rashid holds the top spot in that format, with 39 rating points separating the two.
Abrar made his Test debut in December 2022 against England, while his ODI debut came against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in November 2024. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in Rawalpindi in April 2024.
The right-arm mystery spinner from Karachi has featured in nine T20Is for Pakistan this year, taking 15 wickets. His 15 wickets included six in three matches at home against Australia, as Pakistan completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the series in January/February this year.
Abrar is currently part of the Pakistan squad that will feature in the Asian Games in Japan. The squad is taking part in a four-day training session in Karachi, which will conclude on Thursday.
Abrar said, “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, “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. 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, “My teammates always back me and give me confidence. They tell me that I can do the job for the team and their support means a lot to me. My teammates have played a big role in my journey and have always helped boost my confidence. The Asian Games are coming up and my aim is to perform well and help my team win matches and return to Pakistan with a gold medal.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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