ICC Rankings: KL Rahul Makes Big Gain, Glenn Maxwell Also Moves Up

Australia star has made a significant gain in the latest ICC Rankings for T20I batsmen after starring in the 2-0 series win over India. Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai has also moved upwards after his remarkable show in the three-match series against Ireland.

Maxwell opened the series against India with a fighting fifty before scoring an unbeaten ton in the second on Wednesday. The right-handed batsman scored 113 not out of 55 deliveries as Australia chased down a huge 191 to beat India by seven wickets and register their first series win in the country since 2008. The series win is also Australia’s first over India since 2007 when the won the one-off series.

As a result of the show, Maxwell, who was the top-ranked batsman in the format a year ago, has gained two slots to reach third position.

On the other hand, Hazratullah has gained a whopping 31 slots to reach a career-best seventh position after aggregating 204 runs in the 3-0 series victory. The pick of his knock in the series was his unbeaten knock of 162 in the second game that helped Afghanistan post 278 for 3 – the highest-ever total in T20I.

For Australia, D’Arcy Short has gained eight slots to reach eighth position among batsmen. From India, KL Rahul, who made a comeback in the series, gained four berths to reach sixth position after scoring 50 and 47. Rahul is the highest-ranked Indian in the ICC Rankings. India skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 72 in the second T20I, moved up two places to 17th while former skipper MS Dhoni moved up seven places to 56th.

Among bowlers, fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who had picked up 3 for 16 in the opener, has moved up 12 places to 15th while left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya has moved up 18 places to a career-best 43rd. From Australia, Nathan Coulter-Nile has gained four slots to reach 45th position after taking four wickets including a player of the match haul of 3/26 in the first match.

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi has gained 12 slots to reach 30th place and Usman Ghani has moved up 25 slots to 79th among batsmen while Mujeeb-ur-Rehman has moved from 42nd to 40th in the bowlers’ list.

In the team rankings,  India have retained second position while Australia have overtaken South Africa and England to reach third place. Afghanistan and Ireland retain eighth and 17th positions, respectively.