India’s rising batting star, Tilak Varma, has reached his career-best ICC Men’s T20I ranking, climbing to No. 2 in the world. The 22-year-old’s stellar performances in recent months have propelled him past England’s Phil Salt, bringing him within striking distance of Australia’s Travis Head, who currently holds the top position.
Till date, Tilak’s success has been driven by match-winning performances such as this unbeaten 72 from 55 deliveries in the second T20I against England in Chennai; his composed knock had seen India stabilize its innings and eventually emerge to win a thrilling two-wicket victory. He could score only 18 runs when India lost the third T20I in Rajkot, but his consistency has kept him among the best T20 batters of the game.
With 832 rating points, Tilak is only 23 points behind Head’s 855. With two more matches remaining in the five-match series against England, he has a good opportunity to jump to the No. 1 spot if he maintains his rich vein of form.
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India remains a force to be reckoned with in the ICC T20I batting rankings. Former No. 1 Suryakumar Yadav is now at No. 4, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has slipped to No. 9 after being surpassed by Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan. Sanju Samson, who was at 17th, has slid to 29th following a subpar outing against England.
Since his elevation as India’s No. 3 batsman batting spot in South Africa last season, Tilak has played sensational cricket for the national side. In this period, the youngster remained undefeated in four innings out of his last five for 336 runs. Not that his two big hundreds against the South African proved him an outstanding performer with patience and nerves at the end as well.
Latest T20I Batting Rankings:
Tilak Varma New No.2 T20I batter 💥🫡 pic.twitter.com/svr6NZfaKm
— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) January 29, 2025
For one, in the Chennai T20I, Tilak yet again showed his mettle. He soaked in the pressure when India’s top order was getting clobbered, played with controlled aggression, and took the match home through smart shot selection-a reflection of his maturing.
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Top 10 ICC T20I Batters as of January 29, 2025.
1. Travis Head
2. Tilak Varma
3. Phil Salt
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Jos Buttler
6. Babar Azam
7. Pathum Nissanka
8. Mohammad Rizwan
9. Yashasvi Jaiswal
10. Kusal Perera
Tilak’s meteoric rise is a huge boost for India as the T20 World Cup 2026 looms in the horizon. If he could hold this, he could well be India’s key player in another bid for another ICC trophy.
