On Wednesday, the ICC Mens T20I Rankings for batters were released, and India's Suryakumar Yadav maintained his top position. However, Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan are expected to have a chance to narrow the gap with the top-ranked batter during the T20I series against New Zealand.
Babar Azam has moved up to third place in the rankings, and he will have the opportunity to get closer to Suryakumar Yadav during Pakistan's five-game T20I series against New Zealand, which begins on Saturday. Both Babar and Rizwan were absent from Pakistan's most recent T20I series against Bangladesh, and they will be eager to score well against the Black Caps, who are fresh off a narrow 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka at home.
Suryakumar dominates the T20I rankings for batters with an impressive 906 rating points. However, while the Indian star is busy playing IPL, second-placed Rizwan (811) and third-placed Babar (755) have the opportunity to make gains.
Interestingly, Babar's rise to third place was due to Devon Conway's absence from New Zealand's series against Sri Lanka. Conway, who is also playing in the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings, was unable to maintain his position, allowing Babar to move up.
The recently completed T20I series saw several New Zealand and Sri Lankan stars rewarded for their performances. The young spinner Maheesh Theekshana was the biggest standout, rising to a career-high rating and equal fifth-place on the rankings for bowlers. Theekshana's match-winning performance during the Super Over in the first match of the series, followed by two strong showings while opening the bowling in the final two matches.
Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis has made a significant jump of 11 spots to reach the 25th position, while New Zealand's Tim Seifert has climbed from outside the top 100 to secure the 36th spot. These two players have emerged as the big winners in the latest rankings.
Meanwhile, the Test rankings have also seen some movement following Bangladesh's victory over Ireland in Mirpur. The experienced right-hander Mushfiqur Rahim has moved up five places to secure the 17th position on the Test batter rankings after scoring 126 and 51*. The spin duo of Taijul Islam and Shakib Al Hasan have also been rewarded on the list for bowlers.
Taijul's impressive five-wicket haul during the first innings has helped him move up three places to secure the 20th position, while Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has improved two spots to reach the 26th position.
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