Pakistani skipper Babar Azam retained his top spot in the ICC T20I rankings despite Indian players making major improvements in their rankings. India had won the T20 series 4-1 against West Indies, making several Indian players big strides in the ranking. ICC released the rankings on Wednesday.
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are among the leading Indian cricketers who improved their rankings remarkably. At one point, it seemed cricketers will topple Babar Azam from his top position in the ICC rankings. Babar Azam is still the only batter in the world who is ranked among the top five in all the cricket formats. Azam is ranked number one in T20 and ODI. He sits in the third spot in the Test rankings.
Muhammad Rizwan is at the third spot in the ICC T20I rankings with India’s Suryakumar Yadav at the second spot. Both Pakistani players have remarkably retained their positions despite only playing 1 T20I in 2022 meanwhile other teams have played T20I matches constantly.
Holding on to No.1 ☝️
Babar Azam keeps the top spot on the @MRFWorldwide T20I rankings despite a push from India's stars 📈https://t.co/R0bxuSLU0q
— ICC (@ICC) August 10, 2022
Meanwhile, Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli experiences a drop in his rankings. He has been dropped down to the 32nd spot. Kohli is ranked number 12th in the Tests and number 5 ODIs. No other significant movement has been recorded in the latest ICC rankings.
Read more: Pakistan, India likely to play thrice in Asia Cup
Pakistan and India are expected to play each other in Asia Cup in August this year. Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah is expected to skip Asia Cup due to injury.
Pakistan is expected to face India thrice in the upcoming T20I Asia Cup. The arch-rivals India and Pakistan will face each other on August 28th on Sunday a day after Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will take on each other in the opening match of the tournament. Teams will be participating in the tournament which will be played in UAE after it was shifted from Sri Lanka due to political and economic crisis hitting the country.