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Thursday March 28, 2024

ICC T20I Rankings: Babar continues to head batsmen’s list

By Our Correspondent
January 12, 2020

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s star cricketer Babar Azam maintained his place on top of the batsmen’s list in the latest ICC Men’s Twenty20 International rankings.

The captain of the world’s top ranked T20I side leads Australian skipper Aaron Finch by 69 points while England’s Dawid Malan is third in the order. The right-handed Babar is the only Pakistani batsman to feature in the top 10.

There are, however, two Pakistanis among the top 10 bowlers in cricket’s shortest format. Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim is at No 4 while right-arm leggie Shadab Khan occupies eighth position.

Afghanistan’s leg-spinning star Rashid Khan is the No 1 bowler in T201s and is closely followed by countryman Mujeeb Ur Rahman in second place. Mitchell Santner of New Zealand is third. Interestingly, eight of the top 10 bowlers are spinners with the exceptions being South Africa’s Andile Pheh­luk­wayo and England’s Chris Jordan.

Afghanistan also have the No 1 all-rounder in Mohammad Nabi. Australian stroke-maker Glenn Max­well is second and Sean Williams of Zimbabwe third.

ICC press release adds: India opener KL Rahul has retained sixth position while captain Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the T20I rankings after featuring in the three-match series against Sri Lanka that they won 2-0 with one match washed out.

Rahul, the highest-ranked India batsman, has gained 26 points and is now on 760 rating points, just six behind Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka. Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in ninth position while Dhawan is 15th.

India’s fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach 39th position.

In the team rankings, India have gained two points but remain in fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236, the same as Afghanistan.

Pakistan continue to head the list with 270 points while Australia are second just one point behind. England are third.

ICC Men’s T20I Rankings: Teams: 1. Pakistan 270 rating points; 2. Australia 269; 3. England 265; 4. South Africa 262; 5. India 260; 6. New Zealand 252; 7. Afghanistan 236; 8. Sri Lanka 236; 9. Bangladesh 227; 10. West Indies 225; 11. Zimbabwe 194; 12. Nepal 192; 13. Scotland 187; 14. Ireland 184; 15. UAE 184; 16. Netherlands 179; 17. Oman 177; 18. PNG 176; 19. Namibia 153; 20. Hong Kong 144.

Batsmen (top 10): 1. Babar Azam (Pak), 879 points; 2. Aaron Finch (Aus), 810; 3. Dawid Malan (Eng), 782; 4. Colin Munro (NZ), 780; 5. Glenn Maxwell (Aus), 766; 6. Lokesh Rahul (Ind), 760; 7. Evin Lewis (WI), 699; 8. H Zazai (Afg), 692; 9. Virat Kohli (Ind), 683; 10. Eoin Morgan (Eng), 653.

Bowlers (top 10): 1. Rashid Khan (Afg), 749 points; 2. M Ur Rahman (Afg), 742; 3. M Santner (NZ), 698; 4. Imad Wasim (Pak), 681; 5. Adam Zampa (Aus), 674; 6. A Phehlukwayo (SA), 665; 7. Adil Rashid (Eng), 660; 8. Shadab Khan (Pak), 657; 9. Ashton Agar (Aus), 649; 10. Chris Jordan (Eng), 640.

All-rounders (top five): 1. M Nabi (Afg), 319 points; 2. Glenn Maxwell (Aus), 231; 3. Sean Williams (Zim), 212; 4. R Berrington (Sco), 194; 5. R Mustafa (UAE), 156.