Hafeez, Shaheen rise in T20I rankings

LAHORE: Mohammad Hafeez and Shaheen Shah Afridi have made impressive gains in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings following stellar performances in the just concluded series against England, which ended in an exciting 1-1 draw.

Both the sides retained their pre-series rankings, England staying second with 268 points and Pakistan fourth with 261 points. Australia are on top of the table with 278 points and India third with 266 points.

Hafeez scored 69 and 86 not out in the last two matches of the series which earned him a jump of 27 places. He is now ranked 44th and Pakistan’s third highest-ranked batsman, after Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman.

Babar, who scored 56 and 21, has maintained his number-one ranking but lost 10 points to sit with 869 points. Babar leads his closest rival Lokesh Rahul of India by 45 points.

Australia’s Aaron Finch is third with 820 points. Fakhar has slipped two places to 23rd following knocks of 36 and one.

Haider Ali, who made his international debut in the last match of the series, entered the rankings in 747th position. Shoaib Malik, who scored 14 in the second T20I, dropped six places to 49th, while Iftikhar Ahmed fell 14 places to 94th. In the bowling table, Shaheen Shah Afridi reached his career-best 20th ranking, rising 14 places.

Mohammad Amir slipped eight places to 40th but Wahab Riaz moved up 18 places to share 107th position with South Africa’s Dwaine Pretorius. The bowlers’ list is headed by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, while his team-mate Mujeeb-ur-Rehman is second, six points behind. Australia’s pair of Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa share the third position with 712 points.