Suryakumar Yadav
Indian batsman Suryakumar pips Rizwan to claim top spot in T20 rankings
Dubai: India batter Suryakumar Yadav dethroned Pakistan wicketkeepr-batter Mohammad Rizwan to claim the top position for batters in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, released on Wednesday.
The India batter achieved the career best ranking on the back of his impressive start to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where the 32-year-old has registered back-to-back half centuries against the Netherlands and South Africa.
Yadav’s 51 not out off 25 balls against the Netherlands in Sydney and a valiant 68 off 40 against South Africa in Perth have helped him overtake New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Rizwan, who had held the top spot since September 4 this year.
Yadav is the 23rd player to top the T20I batting rankings and only the second Indian to reach No. 1 in T20 cricket after Virat Kohli, who spent 1,013 days at the top in different periods from September 2014 to December 2017, according to the ICC.
Yadav’s tally of 863 rating points is also the second best by an Indian, the highest being Kohli’s tally of 897 in September 2014.
Yadav isn't the only batter on the move following a strong start to the T20 World Cup, with South Africa left-hander Rilee Rossouw and New Zealand dasher Glenn Phillips also making eye-catching moves inside the top 10.
Phillips has moved up five slots to reach a career-best seventh position after scores of 104 against Sri Lanka and 62 against England, while Rossouw moved up 17 place to a career-best eighth position.
The latest weekly update, that considers performances in matches completed by Tuesday, sees Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga advance four places to second position among bowlers.
Hasaranga, who had become No.1 during the T20 World Cup last year, has moved back towards the top position after taking one wicket against New Zealand and three against Afghanistan. Hasaranga has only three points less than Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.
England seamer Sam Curran, who grabbed two wickets each against New Zealand and Ireland during this period, is up two places to sixth position while South Africa quick Anrich Nortje has progressed 11 slots to eighth position after his haul of four for 10 against Bangladesh.
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