Team Neemopani
In the T20I rankings for bowlers, Adil Rashid has been rewarded for his strong, consistent play in the Caribbean. Less than six months before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins, he moves up two spots to take the top spot from Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (second) and India’s Ravi Bishnoi (third).
After off-spinner Graeme Swann earned the top rank more than ten years ago, Rashid is only the second player from England to have the No. 1 ranking for T20I bowlers.
On a busy day for the rankings, West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein (up three spots to sixth) and his South Africa counterpart Tabraiz Shamsi (up three places to ninth) also made impressive moves inside the top 10. This means that three different players have held the top spot on the list for T20I bowlers over the last three weeks.
The top-ranked T20I India batter Suryakumar Yadav was challenged by West Indies quartet Brandon King (up six spots to sixth), Nicholas Pooran (up two spots to 12th), Rovman Powell (up 14 places to 23rd), and Kyle Mayers (up nine spots to 33rd). Meanwhile, Phil Salt (up 20 places to 20th) made significant progress after his outstanding run for England in the Caribbean.
Following his explosive century in the final match of India’s series against South Africa, Suryakumar has extended his lead at the top to a total of 100 rating points. His nearest competitors are South Africa’s Aiden Markram (third) and Pakistan’s veteran Mohammad Rizwan (second).
For the Men in Green in the just finished five-match series against New Zealand, Babar Azam stood out as a player. Babar’s outstanding performance shone through during the national team’s 4-1 series loss, even though the 2024 season has just begun and it is a T20 World Cup year.
The 29-year-old displayed his batting skills in the series, finishing as the second-highest run scorer with 213 runs in five games at an astounding average of 42.60 and a striking rate of 142.00. Three half-centuries were included in this.
Thanks to his impressive performances in the aforementioned series, the right-hander moved up to fourth place in the most recent ICC T20I hitters rankings, overtaking Aiden Markram with 763 points.
In the most recent T20I all-rounder rankings, Markram climbs one spot to third behind Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh. England spinner Moeen Ali, who moves up two spots to equal ninth, and West Indies seamer Jason Holder, who moves up one rung to 24th, also make the cut.
In 50-over cricket, the competition is extremely closer. Babar has surpassed Gill to reclaim the top spot as the world’s best ODI batsman after Gill was rested for the India series against South Africa.
Following modest scores in the first game of their series with India, South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen (down one spot to eighth) and Heinrich Klaasen (down one rung to tenth) lose some ground inside the top 10. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Harry Tector climbs one spot to seventh on the ODI batter rankings after scoring 33 against Zimbabwe.
Following Australia’s decisive victory over Pakistan in Perth, there has also been some movement in the most recent Test rankings, with several players from the team that won the ICC World Test Championship making some notable advancements.
In the most recent rankings for Test batters, opener Usman Khawaja (up three spots to fourth) moves ahead of Babar and within striking distance of the top-ranked Kiwi Kane Williamson. Compatriots David Warner (up nine spots to 27th) and Mitchell Marsh (improves 12 places to equal 68th) also gain ground following strong performances against Pakistan.
Regarding bowlers, it’s a similar story. While India’s Ravichandran Ashwin remains at the top, Australia’s Pat Cummins (up one spot to third), Nathan Lyon (up three spots to fifth), Mitchell Starc (up two places to eighth), and Josh Hazlewood (up two spots to tenth) are all moving up inside the top 10.
