The battle for ICC number 1 ranked T20I batsman ranking has become an intense one as Suryakumar Yadav continues to put pressure on Mohammad Rizwan. In the latest released T20I rankings, Rizwan continues to lead the way, but SKY is close behind, trailing by just 16 rating points.
Earlier last month, Rizwan surpassed his compatriot and skipper Babar Azam to reach the pinnacle of T20I rankings, with Suryakumar dropping down to fourth, but an impressive showing against Australia and South Africa saw him level his best-ever career ranking in second place.
Recently, when Rizwan was questioned about the intense battle between him and the Indian star batsman, the Pakistani stalwart played down any talks of a rivalry, instead choosing to praise SKY.
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Speaking after Pakistan's 21-run victory over Bangladesh, Rizwan opined that he is an opener and Suryakumar is a middle-order batsman, so things should be looked at differently.
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"Good player hain Suryakumar Yadav. Jis tarah se woh khelte hain, mujhe bohot pasand he. Magar jaha tak cheezen he and different tarike se dekha jae kyunki middle order and top order mukhtalif cheezen hain," said the Pak opener.
He continued, "Kabhi No.1 ke liye socha nahi hain jo demand he Pakistan ki woh pura karne ki koshish kar raha hu. No.1 or Man of the Match, aise kuch cheeze hain jo negative main le jati hain. Par main sochta nahi hu."
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SKY could have overtaken Rizwan however he was dismissed for just 8 runs in the final T20I against South Africa. With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, the battle for supremacy between both players is set to continue.
