DUBAI – International Cricket Council has unveiled the latest playersrankings after Pakistan Vs West Indies T20 series.
*Pakistan opener Babar Azam has reclaimed the number one batting rankingwhile wrist spinner Shadab Khan has vaulted into second position for thefirst time in his career in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings released onWednesday after the Pakistan versus Windies series in Karachi. *
Babar was in stellar form when he scored 17, 97 not out and 51 as Pakistanconsolidated their position at the top of the team rankings following a 3-0series win.
For this consistency, Babar was adjudged player of the series and was alsorewarded with a jump of two places, which has made him the highest-rankedbatsman in the shortest format of the game for the second time in less than10 weeks.
Babar had first surged to the top on 28 January following the seriesagainst New Zealand, before Glenn Maxwell of Australia went top during theAustralia-New Zealand-England T20I tri-series. New Zealand’s Colin Munrofinished the series on 24 February as the number-one ranked batsman.
Shadab Khan has surged up to the second position in the latest T20I rankings
When Babar topped the batting rankings in January, he became the secondPakistan batsman after Misbah-ul-Haq to claim the coveted number oneposition.
For his efforts in Karachi, Babar earned 95 points, which put him ahead ofMunro and Maxwell. Babar now leads Munro by 80 points, while Maxwell isanother two points behind.
Other players to make an upward movement following this series includeShoaib Malik (32nd, up by four places), Fakhar Zaman (50th, up by 15places), Hussain Talat (has entered in 54th spot) and Chadwick Walton(98th, up by 11 places).
In the bowling table, Shadab Khan has rocketed 10 places to secondfollowing his five wickets in the series. Shadab collected 125 points fromthe just-concluded series, which has put him just 26 points behind fellowwrist spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, who interestingly is just 14 daysolder than Shadab.
Marlon Samuels of the Windies has slipped one place in all-rounder rankingsto the fifth position.
It is also interesting to point out that six of the seven top-rankedbowlers are wrist spinners (Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, IshSodhi, Samuel Badree and Imran Tahir), while sixth-ranked Michael Santnerof New Zealand is a left-arm spinner.
Fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are also on the charge in thelatest rankings. Amir has lifted 15 places to 12th, while Hasan has jumped10 places to a career-high 30th position.
Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz is the biggest mover in thelatest rankings. The 24-year-old took four wickets in the series, which hashelped him rise 66 places to a career-high 53rd rank.
Other bowlers to improve their rankings include Kesrick Williams (57th, upby seven places), Faheem Ashraf (68th, up by 24 places) and Shoaib Malik(82nd, up by five places).
Mohammad Amir has lifted 15 places to 12th position in the bowlers’ list
Glenn Maxwell is the number one ranked all-rounder, while Shoaib Malik isPakistan’s highest-ranked all-rounder in ninth position after moving up bytwo places. Windies’ Marlon Samuels has slipped one place to fifth.
Meanwhile, Pakistan opened up a four-point advantage over second-rankedAustralia following a 3-0 win. In contrast, the Windies have dropped fromfifth to seven after losing four points.
Mohammad Amir has lifted 15 places to 12th position in the bowlers’ listMohammad Amir has lifted 15 places to 12th position in the bowlers’ list