Tilak Varma overtakes Suryakumar Yadav to become India’s highest-ranked T20I batter
Tilak Varma rose a whopping 69 spots to No. 3 in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for men’s T20I batters on Wednesday, November 20.
Tilak became the highest-ranked Indian T20I batter, overtaking captain Suryakumar Yadav in the coveted list. The Mumbai Indians star is only behind Australia’s Travis Head and England’s Phil Salt.
Tilak Varma has broken into the top 10 for the first time in his T20I career. The rise comes after his twin hundreds in India’s dominant T20I series win in South Africa in November.
Tilak Varma won the Player of the Series after India clinched it 3-1. He scored 280 runs at a strike rate of 198, smashing 20 sixes across four matches.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav, who held the No. 1 spot earlier this year, has slipped to No. 4. He made a selfless call and sacrificed his No. 3 spot for Tilak. He managed just 26 runs in four Tests, batting only in three innings.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, who also hit two hundreds in the series, climbed 17 spots to 22nd in the latest batting rankings. Samson has been in sensational form in the shortest format of the game, having scored 3 hundreds in his last five innings. Samson seems to be enjoying the backing from captain Suryakumar and coach Gautam Gambhir.
Samson needed five years since making his T20I debut to score his first hundred in the format. In the last 40 days, Samson has scored three, flaunting his renewed hunger and consistency.
INDIAN BATTERS IN TOP 30 – ICC T20I RANKINGS
3. Tilak Varma – 806 rating points
4. Suryakumar Yadav – 788 points
8. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 706 points
15. Ruturaj Gaikwad – 619 points
22. Sanju Samson – 598 points
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC rankings for men’s all-rounders in T20Is. He dethroned England’s Liam Livingstone.
It was a sensational finish to India’s run in T20Is in 2024 as they dominated South Africa. In the series finale, India rode on hundreds from Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma to post 283 on the board. The partnership for the second wicket was 210 runs as India went on to break a series of batting records.
Captain Suryakumar confirmed that Tilak would continue to bat at No. 3, revealing the conversation between them after he hit the first of the two hundreds in South Africa.
“What can I say about Tilak Varma. He came to me (in Gqeberha), asked me if he could bat at three. I said to him it was his day and to enjoy himself. I knew what he was capable of doing and very happy for him. He is batting at three going forward definitely (smiles). He asked for it, he delivered.