Babar narrows the margin with leading Suryakumar in ICC T20I Batting Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam climbed one spot and closed the gap with top-ranked Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20I Batting Rankings. Babar Azam jumped to the fourth spot with 763 rating points on the back of his impressive showing during the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand. The right-handed batter finished the series with 125 runs in four games, including a half-century in the last game, only behind New Zealand’s Mark Chapman (126). Yadav continues to lead the T20I batting rankings with 861 rating points, followed by England’s Phil Salt with 802 points and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan with 784 points. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi climbed three places to joint 14th in the ICC T20I Bowling Rankings after ending the New Zealand series as the highest wicket-taker with eight scalps. New Zealand bowlers also earned rewards for their gutsy performance against Pakistan as Michael Bracewell rose 13 spots to 55th and Ben Sears jumped 29 places to 60th. Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim climbed 10 places to 22nd spot in the ICC T20I all-rounder rankings. Notably, Wasim reversed his international retirement before the New Zealand series and declared his availability for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.