ICC T20I Rankings: Babar Azam Loses Number 1 Ranking, Suryakumar Yadav Remains Highest-Ranked Indian Batsman

Babar Azam’s reign as the number one T20I batsman in the world has come to an end, the ICC confirmed on Wednesday (September 7). The governing body of the game released the latest ICC T20I Rankings as some of the best players in the world fight it out in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The Pakistan skipper is currently leading his team in the Asia Cup and has failed to do well with the bat so far. In the first three games of the competition, he has scored 10, 9 and 14. And the string of poor outings has hurt his rankings in the latest ICC T20I Rankings.

He has now dropped to the second spot and has been replaced by his compatriot and opening partner Mohammad Rizwan. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been in red-hot form in Asia Cup 2022. He is currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament, having amassed 192 runs in 3 matches.

Rizwan began the tournament with a knock of 43 against India before playing two sublime match-winning knocks. In the do-or-die clash against Hong Kong, he scored an unbeaten 78 before slamming 71 against India in the Super 4 clash. His performances have seen him gain one spot, overtaking Babar.

Rizwan has now become the third Pakistan batsman to top the ICC T20I Rakings after Babar and Misbah-ul-Haq. Babar has been at the top of the T20I batting charts for 1155 days in his career (as of 7 September).

Suryakumar Yadav is highest ranked Indian in ICC T20I Rankings:

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav is the highest-ranked Indian in the ICC T20I Rankings. He is in the fourth spot with 775 rating points. South Africa’s Aiden Markram is in the third spot. No other Indian batsman features in the top ten of the latest rankings for batsmen. India skipper Rohit Sharma has moved up four spots to number 13 after his 72 against Sri Lanka.

In other big movements in the batting chart, Pathum Nissanka has gained one spot to move up to number 8 thanks to his fine displays in Asia Cup. On Tuesday, he scored a fine fifty against India, helping Sri Lanka chase down 174. Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz is one of the biggest movers, gaining fourteen spots to number 15.