Brook Reaches Career-best Fourth Spot In T20I Rankings; Ahmed Becomes Top-ranked Bowler

Brook reaches career-best fourth spot in T20I rankings; Ahmed becomes top-ranked bowler (London: India vs England 3rd ODI)

T20I Batting Rankings: England skipper Harry Brook has achieved a career-best fourth position in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings following a stellar home series against Sri Lanka, while Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed surged to the top of the T20I bowling charts in the latest update to the rankings announced on Wednesday.

Brook, who holds the top spot in Test batting rankings, climbed five places in the T20I rankings led by India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan after accumulating 170 runs in England’s 3-0 series sweep, including an unbeaten 114 in Southampton that earned him the Player of the Series award.

Brook, 27, also moved up three places to 12th spot in the ODI rankings, which puts him on the verge of entering the top 10 across all three international formats. Meanwhile, Ahmed attained the number one ranking among T20I bowlers for the first time in his career.

The change happened after Afghanistan’s premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan dropped one rating point to be behind Abrar's tally of 736 points following an ordinary outing in Afghanistan's last match against India in New Delhi, which ended his six-month stint at the summit. Abrar becomes the fifth Pakistan bowler to claim the top T20I bowling spot after Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim, and Shahid Afridi.

In other notable T20I batting movements, Brook's teammate, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler rose two places to fifth position after scoring 172 runs in the Sri Lanka series. India captain Shreyas Iyer gained seven slots to reach joint-22nd, while England's Tom Banton jumped 30 places to 60th.

Among T20I bowlers, England's Jamie Overton made a significant leap of 47 places to reach a career-best sixth position after taking five wickets against Sri Lanka. Fellow countryman Liam Dawson climbed 12 places to 11th, while India spinners Axar Patel (up 12 places to 15th) and Ravi Bishnoi (up five places to 35th) also made notable progress.

Afghanistan’s seam-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai moved up three spots to 49th, while England's off-spin bowling all-rounder Will Jacks advanced to 58th in the bowling list while claiming the third position among all-rounders rankings in the shortest format.

Among T20I bowlers, England's Jamie Overton made a significant leap of 47 places to reach a career-best sixth position after taking five wickets against Sri Lanka. Fellow countryman Liam Dawson climbed 12 places to 11th, while India spinners Axar Patel (up 12 places to 15th) and Ravi Bishnoi (up five places to 35th) also made notable progress.

Australia pacer Nathan Ellis climbed three places to a career-best 17th spot after taking nine wickets in the Zimbabwe series, while Sri Lankan fast bowler Asitha Fernando progressed from 39th to 30th following his three-wicket haul against England in Chester-le-Street.

Article Source: IANS