Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza has returned to the No.1 position on the ICC Men’s T20I All-Rounder Rankings after a stellar performance against Oman in the T20 World Cup. He surpassed Pakistan’s Saim Ayub to reclaim the top spot he held last year.
Sikandar Raza Reclaims Top All-Rounder Spot
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has been rewarded for his side’s strong start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by regaining the No.1 spot on the latest ICC Men’s T20I All-Rounder Rankings, as per the ICC website.
The African nation registered an impressive eight-wicket victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup opener in Colombo, and Raza’s efforts with both bat and ball saw the veteran return to the top spot on the list for T20I all-rounders.
Raza picked up figures of 1/17 from four economical overs to help restrict Oman to just 103 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and later returned to hit the winning runs to ensure Zimbabwe made a fast start to the 20-over showcase. It saw Raza gain once place on the latest rankings for T20I all-rounders and move past Pakistan opener Saim Ayub into the premier position, a spot he first claimed towards the backend of last year.
Updates in T20I Batter and Bowler Rankings
Raza wasn’t the only Zimbabwe player to make big gains on the latest rankings update, with teammate Brian Bennett among the eye-catching movers on the updated rankings for T20I batters following his innings of 48* against Oman. Bennett found a new career-high rating while jumping two spots to 19th on the list for T20I batters, with Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan the big mover inside the top 10 as he jumped four spots to third overall after his innings of 73 against the USA.
India opener Abhishek Sharma maintains his place at the top of the T20I batter rankings in front of England’s Phil Salt, with New Zealand’s Tim Seifert (up one place to eighth), Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (up six spots to 12th), Scotland’s George Munsey (up seven rungs to equal 23rd), India’s Ishan Kishan (up seven slots to 25th) and Netherlands Michael Levitt (up six places to 27th) among the other movers.
India’s Varun Chakravarthy holds a narrow advantage over Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed at the top of the list for T20I bowlers, with Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga (up one place to fifth) the only significant mover inside the top 10.
Other Notable Gains
There is plenty of movement outside, though, as Arshdeep Singh (up three places to 11th), Salman Mirza (up nine spots to 13th), Brad Evans (up 16 rungs to equal 15th, Mitchell Santner (up four slots to equal 19th) and Bradley Currie (up 25 places to 24th) all make gains. (ANI)
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