DUBAI – Pakistan skipper Babar Azam reclaimed the top slot in ICC’s T20IBatting Ranking after a dazzling performance against Namibia in the T20World Cup.
The 27-year-old’s two successive half-centuries in the ongoing ICCtournament and three in four previous matches have helped him overtakeEngland’s Dawid Malan and grab the No. 1 position.
Azam, who recently scored 51 against Afghanistan and 70 against Namibia tolead the 2009 champions into the semifinals, is at the top of the rankingfor the sixth time in his career. He first attained the top position onJanuary 28, 2018. He is also currently ranked No. 1 in ODIs.
Sitting at number 2 in last week’s rankings, Pakistani skipper moved up 14points pushing past English batter. Green Shirts have made the ideal startto the ICC cricket carnival – winning four consecutive games in style withBabar at the helm.
The right-handed batsman first got the feat earlier in 2018 while hecurrently holds top rank in One Day Internationals. The Pakistani starbatter’s tally of 834 rating points puts him 36 points ahead of Englishcricketer while his career-best remains 896 rating points.
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Pakistani skipper while reacting to the recent feat said It is a goodlittle motivation to be back on top of the T20I rankings. But the biggerpicture is these performances have helped Pakistan to rise to No.2 andbecome the first side to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Men’s T20World Cup 2021.
Meanwhile, team Green is now on 265 points, while arch-rival India slippedto 262 points after consecutive defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand.England led the field with 279 points.
