Pakistani players secure major spot in ICC T20 rankings
In a surprising update, Pakistan’s former white-ball captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Haris Rauf have made big moves in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20I Player Rankings.
The ICC announced the rankings for men’s teams, batters, bowlers, and all-rounders on Wednesday.
Babar Azam, who was previously ranked fifth, has now moved up to fourth in the T20I batters’ rankings with 755 points. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan remains in sixth place with 746 points.
In one-day internationals (ODIs), Babar has held onto his number one spot with 824 points, ahead of India’s Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Ireland’s Harry Tector. In the Test batting rankings, England’s Joe Root is at the top with 899 points. Root has scored 176 runs in an ongoing Test match against Pakistan.
On the T20I bowling side, Shaheen Afridi kept his 13th place with 623 points. Haris Rauf, however, climbed up from 26th to 24th with 583 points. On the downside, Naseem Shah dropped two places to 49th with 493 points.
Indian players also made big improvements in the white-ball bowling rankings, especially after their strong performance against Bangladesh. Hardik Pandya is now ranked 60th in the T20I batters’ rankings and is third among all-rounders. Arshdeep Singh moved up to eighth in the bowling rankings after a three-wicket haul. Washington Sundar is ranked 35th, while England’s Adil Rashid leads the T20I bowling rankings following the T20 World Cup and England’s recent series against Australia.
In women’s cricket, Pakistan’s Saadia Iqbal shined by moving up to second place in the rankings after taking three wickets for just 17 runs in the opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
