The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its latest T20I rankings on Wednesday, which saw Team India star batter Suryakumar Yadav and South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi making remarkable gains, climbing up to grab the second spot for batters and bowlers, respectively.
Surya, in fact, has now come very close to attaining the top rank held by Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Suryakumar has advanced three positions to acquire the second number spot and is only two rating points behind Babar.
Suryakumar has surged in the batters’ category, especially after his heroics in the recently-concluded third T20I against West Indies. The Pune-born batter smashed a brilliant 44-ball 76 to help India win the match by seven wickets.
“Yadav has moved up three spots to within two rating points of top-ranked Babar Azam after a dazzling 44-ball knock of 76 that won him the Player of the Match award and saw him lead the batting aggregate with 111 runs from three matches in the series against the West Indies which his side leads 2-1,” stated ICC in an official release.
Similarly, Shamsi has advanced one slot to take the second position in the bowlers ranking, headed by Australia pace sensation Josh Hazlewood. Shamsi’s match-winning five-wicket haul for 24 in the final match against England that helped South Africa win the series 2-1, has gained him 19 rating points to move his tally to 728.
South Africa batter Reeza Hendricks, who smashed half-centuries in all three matches against the Jos Buttler-led side, has moved up 16 slots to 15th position.
“South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi jumped one place to second overall on the latest T20I bowler rankings on the back of his strong showing during the Proteas’ series against England, with Afghanistan superstar Rashid Khan dropping to third as a result,” the release added.