Babar Azam is in danger of losing his top spot in the ICC men’s T20I batting rankings as Suryakumar Yadav continued his fine run in the format, scoring a whirlwind fifty in the third T20I against West Indies.
The India batter currently averages 38.11 in T20I cricket, having scored 648 runs from 20 innings with a strike rate of 175.60. After scoring a century in the third T20I against England last month, Suryakumar has continued his run against West Indies as well. He was the star of the show in the third game on Tuesday, striking a 44-ball 76 in India’s win, which helped him earn the Player of the Match award.
His efforts also helped him surge up in the ICC rankings, allowing him to jump three places to No.2. With 816 rating points, he is just two points behind top-ranked Babar. Suryakumar could well become the No.1 ranked T20I batter by the start of next week, with India scheduled to play two more matches against the West Indies over the weekend.
Suryakumar’s rating points of 816 are also the third-highest achieved by an India batter, behind only Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
The Mumbai Indians batter’s movement up to No.2 also resulted in a change in the top four, as Mohammad Rizwan and Aiden Markram dropped down a spot each. Dawid Malan completes the top five. There are three more India batters in the top 20: Ishan Kishan (14th), Rohit Sharma (16th) and Rahul (20th). Kohli dropped down one place and is currently in the 28th position.
The only change in the bowling rankings was the promotion of Tabraiz Shamsi to No.2, which led to Rashid Khan dropping down to three as a result. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only India bowler in the top ten of the ICC T20I men’s rankings.
ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings (Batting)
- Babar Azam – Pakistan
- (+1) Suryakumar Kumar – India
- (-1) Mohammad Rizwan – Pakistan
- (-1) Aiden Markram – South Africa
- Dawid Malan – England
- Aaron Finch – Australia
- Devon Conway – New Zealand
- Pathum Nissanka – Sri Lanka
- Nicholas Pooran – West Indies
- Martin Guptill – New Zealand
ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings (Bowling)
- Josh Hazlewood – Australia
- (+1) Tabraiz Shamsi – South Africa
- (-1) Rashid Khan – Afghanistan
- Adil Rashid – England
- Adam Zampa – Australia
- Akeal Hosein – West Indies
- Wanindu Hasaranga – Sri Lanka
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar – India
- Anrich Nortje – South Africa
- Maheesh Theekshana – Sri Lanka
