Tilak Varma already ahead of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya after entering T20I rankings; here’s why

Tilak Varma has enjoyed brilliant outings for India in the ongoing T20I series against West Indies so far. Since making his international debut in the first T20I last week, Tilak registered scores of 39, 51, and 49* in three games – he was the top-scorer in the first two.

Tilak’s fearless approach in his maiden appearance earned him laurels, and his ability to play second-fiddle and continue with a calm approach in the third T20I impressed his fellow India teammates and fans alike.

Justifiably, Tilak benefitted from his fruitful performances in the rankings as well, as he became the newest entrant in the coveted T20I list. According to the latest ICC T20I rankings that were released on Wednesday, Tilak is 46th with 503 points to his name. Interestingly, he’s already ahead of some of the T20I regulars in the Indian team including captain Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and Shubman Gill.

Among Indians, Tilak is the fifth-highest ranked batter in the shortest format with Suryakumar Yadav continuing to hold the top spot. Virat Kohli, who is yet to play a T20I this year, is 19th while KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma – both of whom have also been absent from the shortest format in 2023 – are 33rd and 34th respectively. Essentially, this makes Tilak Varma the second-highest ranked Indian batter in the current T20I squad already.

However, an inconsistent batting performance had its own consequences on other players, with Shubman suffering a fall of 11 places; he is now at 68th position with 435 points against his name. Ishan, meanwhile, is 54th with only a point behind Hardik Pandya (490), who is 53rd.

Kuldeep makes big jump

While there’s no Indian bowler among the top-10 in the T20I rankings, Arshdeep Singh (17th) continues to be the top-ranked bowler from the side. The left-arm pacer did, however, faced a fall of three places following inconsistent outings in the first three T20Is against the Windies.

Kuldeep Yadav made the biggest jump among Indian players, thanks to his run-a-ball economy rate and 4 wickets in two games; with a 24-place jump, Kuldeep is 51st in the rankings. Axar Patel, too, jumped 7 positions to 33rd in the rankings, while Hardik Pandya went a place up to 37th.