India spinner reaches new heights on T20I rankings charts

India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has increased his lead at the top of the ICC Men's T20I Bowler Rankings and reached new heights with a career-high rating.

Chakravarthy earns a new best rating of 818 points on the back of his third consecutive two-wicket haul in India's ongoing five-game T20I series at home against South Africa.

The right-armer has six wickets across the first three matches of the series, with his spell of 2/11 from four economical overs in the most recent contest in Dharamsala proving pivotal in India's clinical seven-wicket triumph.

Chakravarthy (818 rating points) now holds a 119-point advantage over his closest rival in New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy (699) in second-place, while the 34-year-old also moves inside the top 10 for the best rating of all-time for T20I bowlers.

It bodes well for India less than two months out from their defence of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title they won in Barbados last year, with Chakravarthy likely to play a major role in the side's quest for back-to-back trophies in the 20-over showcase.

There is further good news for India with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh improving four places to 16th overall on the rankings for T20I bowlers on the back of his Player of the Match heroics against the Proteas in the third game of their series, while South Africa are boosted by gains on the same list for Marco Jansen (up 14 spots to 25th), Lungi Ngidi (up 11 rungs to 44th) and Ottneil Baartman from outside the top 100 to 68th.

India now boast two players inside the top five on the rankings for T20I batters, with Tilak Varma gaining two spots to move to fourth overall after a trio of decent innings against South Africa.

Teammate Abhishek Sharma maintains a decent buffer at the top of the batter rankings, while South Africa duo Aiden Markram (up eight places to 29th) and Quinton de Kock (up 14 spots to 43rd) make good ground following some decent recent efforts.

Pakistan's Saim Ayub has a narrow lead at the top of the rankings for T20I all-rounders despite not playing any international matches across the last week, with India's Shivam Dube the big mover on this list as he improves two places to 16th.

There are also changes on the updated Test rankings following the second Test between New Zealand and the West Indies, with players from both sides rewarded for strong performances during the Wellington contest.

Black Caps' left-hander Devon Conway (up seven spots to 34th) makes gains on the list for Test batters, while teammate Duffy (up 15 places to 48th) makes good ground for Test bowlers following his six wickets and Player of the Match performance at Basin Reserve.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc moves up to a career-best ranking of second on the rankings for Test bowlers following the absence of Matt Henry from the Test in Wellington, while the West Indies are boosted by gains on the list for Test all-rounders made by Roston Chase (up one place to 30th) and Justin Greaves (up one spot to 31st).