Axar Patel has surged to a career-best fifth position among bowlers in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings following standout performances by Indian players against Afghanistan.
Patel’s impressive figures of two for 23 and two for 16 in the first two T20Is have also propelled him two spots to 16th among all-rounders, according to the weekly rankings update released on Wednesday, incorporating matches completed till Tuesday.
Yashaswi Jaiswal, the opener, has climbed seven positions to a career-high sixth rank, courtesy of his explosive 34-ball 68 in the inaugural T20I in Indore.
Meanwhile, Shivam Dube’s consecutive unbeaten innings of 60 and 63 have seen him make a significant leap from 265th to 58th in the rankings.
Finn Allen from New Zealand has notably risen to 16th among batters after contributing scores of 34 off 15 and 74 off 41 in the first two matches against Pakistan.
His teammate, Tim Southee, who claimed six wickets in the same fixtures, has ascended eight places to 18th in the bowlers’ list.
Among other Indian players making strides are Shubman Gill (up seven places to 60th among batters), Tilak Verma (up three places to joint-61st among batters), and Arshdeep Singh (up four places to 21st among bowlers).
Afghanistan players Najibullah Zadran (up one place to 46th) and Mohammad Nabi (up two places to 54th) have also seen improvements in the batting rankings.
Pakistan’s star batter, Babar Azam, has moved up one place to fourth after scoring consecutive half-centuries in the first two matches against New Zealand.
Fakhar Zaman has made a noteworthy jump, climbing 14 places to 81st. Kiwi batters Daryll Mitchell (up nine places to 37th) and Kane Williamson (up 13 places to 59th) have also made upward movements.
In the bowling rankings, Sri Lanka’s spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana now share the joint-third position, each moving up one and two places, respectively.
Haris Rauf, the Pakistan fast bowler, has surged two places to joint-14th following his five-wicket haul in two matches. Additionally, Adam Milne from New Zealand has advanced from 66th to joint-47th position after taking six wickets in two matches.
