DUBAI – Pakistan’s young batting sensation, Babar Azam claimed the top spotin ICC T20i players ranking for batsmen as he emerged as the top-scorer inthe three-match T20i series against New Zealand.

Babar Azam scored 109 runs in three matches that pushed him 11 ranks up inthe ranking to replace Colin Munro at the top spot. He is now leading AaronFinch, the second-ranked batsman, by two points at the top, who has 784points against his name.

New Zealand’s Colin Munro started off the series as the first rank holder,but slipped down to the fourth spot due to an unimpressive performance inthe series and missing the third T20i.

The 23-year old is the second Pakistani to rule ICC T20i ranking forbatsmen, former skipper Misbah Ul Haq was the first one to grab the firstposition in 2009.

On the other hand, Ahmed Shehzad’s comeback has earned him a jump to 25thposition, whereas Sarfraz Ahmed has moved from 76th spot to 55th and FakharZaman moved 41 ranks up to hold the 71st rank.

Among bowlers, Shadab Khan enjoyed a jump of 28 places to 14th spotcourtesy of being the highest wicket-taker in the series against NewZealand. Whereas, the left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir now holds 27th rank.

Rumman Raees has also entered the top-100 bowlers with an improvement of 33places, he is now ranked at 92nd position.

New Zealand’s slow left-arm bowler, Mitchell Santner dethroned his teammateIsh Sodhi to become the top-ranked T20i bowler after having a successfulseries against Pakistan.