The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Wednesday, released the latest T20I rankings after the recently-concluded five-match leg series between Pakistan and New Zealand. Black Caps star Mark Chapman and Pakistan’s Iftikhar Ahmed have achieved their career-high rankings.
After smashing unbeaten knocks of 71 off 42 deliveries and 104 off 57 in two matches and finishing with a series-topping aggregate of 290 runs, Chapman has jumped 48 places in the rankings to 35th position. In February 2018, Chapman’s previous best ranking was 54th. Meanwhile, Iftikhar, who scored 36 runs in the final match, has moved up six spots to a joint 38th position in the rankings.
Ranked third among the Pakistan batters, Iftikhar stands below Mohammad Rizwan, who has moved up in the rankings after scoring 98 not out in the final match and now has 811 rating points. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is ranked second, with both Rizwan and Azam featuring behind Indian star Suryakumar Yadav, who has maintained his numero uno position.
Other notable names in the rankings are New Zealand’s Chad Bowes, who has climbed 82 places in the batting rankings to reach 118th position, and his teammate Ish Sodhi, who has moved up two places in the bowling rankings to secure 14th position.
Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim, on the other hand, has progressed in all three rankings. After scoring 31 in the final match, he has moved up 15 places to 127th among batters. In the bowling rankings, his impressive hauls of three for 19 and two for 21 have taken him up by 120 places to the 93rd position. Among all-rounders, he has risen 44 places to 24th position.
In the weekly update of the ODI rankings, in which the performances in the Oman-Nepal match of the ACC men’s premier cup in Kirtipur have been taken into account, Sandeep Lamichhane has climbed up by one position to reach 22nd among bowlers after securing three wickets for 45 runs. Further, Kushal Malla’s impressive knock of 108 off 64 balls has led him to rise by 35 places and reach the 110th position.
