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Team India will begin defence of their title in the T20 World Cup 2026 from February 7. In the lead up to the T20 World Cup which India and Sri Lanka are hosting jointly the defending champions have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The architects of the series win after the first three matches against the Black Caps are world No 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma and the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian captain is the leading run-scorer in the series after three matches with 171 including back-to-back half-centuries in the second and third matches. Abhishek Sharma is not too far behind him with 152 runs in 3 matches at an average of 76 with two half-centuries to his name as well. Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive run in the T20I series against New Zealand means that the Indian skipper has made a massive jump in the ICC T20I rankings announced on Wednesday. Suryakumar has moved up 5 place to 7th spot in the latest rankings. Abhishek Sharma closes in on career-best ratings Opener Abhishek Sharma has been rewarded for his strong form by increasing his lead at the top of the rankings for T20I batters with the left-hander increasing his advantage at the top to 80 rating points following a pair of half-centuries across the first two games of the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand. Abhishek’s rating of 929 points is just two less than his career-high rating of 931 that he achieved during the Asia Cup 2025 with England opener Phil Salt (849 rating points) still his closest challenger ahead of third-placed Tilak Varma (781). Tilak is missing the T20I series against New Zealand after undergoing an operation for an abdominal issue last month. Former No.1 ranked batter Suryakumar Yadav gained five spots this week to move to seventh overall following his innings of 57 not out in the third T20I against the Black Caps in Guwahati. This bodes well for India just 10 days out from the start of the T20 World Cup 2026 with the side also boosted by gains for a host of other players following strong efforts against New Zealand.   Good news for India ahead of their #T20WorldCup defence as a host of their best white-ball players make strong gains on the latest rankings update Details https://t.co/Wws0OzDf5W — ICC (@ICC) January 28 2026 Jasprit Bumrah moves up 4 places in T20I rankings Leading Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah gains four places to move to 13th on the latest list for T20I bowlers after three wickets against the Kiwis in that third T20I with teammate Varun Chakravarthy still at the top of that ranking category following a trio of wickets across the first two games of that series. Hardik Pandya (up one spot to third) and Shivam Dube (up six rungs to 11th) make ground on the latest rankings for T20I all-rounders with Zimbabwe veteran Sikandar Raza still out in front in that category heading into the T20 World Cup. There are also gains for players from other sides following a host of T20I action around the world with South Africa’s Aiden Markram (up nine spots to 20th) West Indies hard-hitter Brandon King (up 15 places to equal 35th) and New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips (up 18 rungs to 44th) all making good ground on the latest rankings for T20I batters. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (up five rungs to ninth) South Africa pacer Corbin Bosch (up eight places to 32nd) and West Indies seamer Matthew Forde (up 19 spots to equal 47th) all make ground on the latest list for T20I bowlers while Nepals Dipendra Airee (up two spots to equal sixth) and Afghanistans Azmatullah Omarzai (up three spots to equal sixth) are among the big movers on the rankings for T20I all-rounders. The completion of the recent ODI series between Sri Lanka and England sees a host of players from both sides rewarded on the latest ODI rankings with Harry Brook and Joe Root among the big winners on the updated list for batters. The pair both made centuries in the third match of that series that England won 2-1 with Brook gaining 17 places to move to 11th and Root improving six spots to 17th as in-form New Zealander Daryl Mitchell stays in the No.1 spot for ODI batters. England spinner Adil Rashid (up six places to fifth) is the big gainer on the latest list for ODI bowlers while Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka (up six places to equal 13th) is the eye-catcher on the updated rankings for ODI all-rounders.