Highlights
- Babar Azam has slipped to the second position
- Mohammad Rizwan now tops the list and has overtaken his skipper Babar Azam
- Suryakumar Yadav is ranked number 4 on the list
ICC Rankings: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's throne has been snatched by his deputy and teammate Mohammad Rizwan. The wicketkeeper-batsman has now become the new number 1 batter and has dethroned his skipper from the top. Rizwan has scaled this height owing to his stellar run in the Asia Cup so far and as of now, he is the leading scorer with 192 runs from 3 matches. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam despite being in red-hot form certainly could not contribute much to his team's cause, but his deputy Rizwan made sure that he rises to the occasion.
Mohammad Rizwan had been Pakistan's lone warrior in the group stage matches against Hong Kong and India as he scored 78* and 71* respectively and also helped his team register back-to-back victories. Courtesy of his scintillating run, Rizwan has overtaken Babar and as of now sits comfortably at the top of the T20I rankings. As of now, Rizwan has become the third Pakistan batter to top the T20I ranking chart. This landmark has previously been breached by Babar Azam and Misbah-ul-Haq.
Rizwan has put an end to his compatriot Babar's reign at the top of the table who held the position for 1155 days in his career (as of September 7, 2022). It is not just Rizwan who has made some notable gains in the latest ICC rankings. Pathum Nissanka went one step ahead and is now stationed at number 8. The Sri Lanka player played some gritty knocks of 20, 35, and 52 in his last three outings which played an instrumental part in helping Sri Lanka qualify for the Super 4 round. Making the most of the ongoing Asia Cup, Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz has gained fourteen spots to reach number 15. After his stellar show of 72 against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma has also moved up to 4 spots and is now stationed at number 13.
As far as the bowling rankings are concerned, Sri Lankan and Afghanistan spinners have made notable gains for their terrific performances. Mujeeb gained three spots after he claimed 2/30 and is the joint number 6 along with Akeal Hosein. Sri Lanka pacer Maheesh Theekshana who has been at his economical best in the Asia cup has broken into the top ten and has ended up in the 8th spot. Pakistan's Shadab Khan has been richly rewarded too and has ended up being number 14 in the latest ICC rankings.
The Australians too made some notable gains in the latest ICC rankings. Warner has moved up to the sixth spot whereas Starc, courtesy of his five wickets in the last three ODIs has ended up being number 12 in the latest ODI rankings issued.
