Suryakumar Yadav Retains Number 1 T20I Ranking Despite Babar, Rizwan’s Recent Heroics
Suryakumar Yadav celebrates his century against SL (Source: Twitter/BCCI)
Suryakumar Yadav has retained his number-one ranking in the latest T20I batting charts. The Indian batter has been in prolific form ever since his international debut two years ago.
The 32-year-old has already turned up for India in 48 T20I matches, including two T20 World Cup appearances in 2021 and 2022. Late last year, he overtook senior Pakistani batters Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan to reach the top of the rankings and has remained unreachable at his throne since then.
Suryakumar Yadav nearly 100 points clear of Rizwan
Suryakumar Yadav scored 97 runs across three innings against New Zealand earlier this year, averaging 48.50.
His series-winning performance against the Black Caps sustained his high-volume batting streak in the format, which launched with his debut innings in 2021.
Meanwhile, Pakistan opener Mohammed Rizwan recently struck an unbeaten 98 against New Zealand at home to take his five-match series tally to 162 runs.
Rizwan’s performance lifted him from 798 to 811 rating points on the latest ICC rankings, thus placing him as the number two-ranked batsman in the world.
However, he is still 95 behind India’s batting master, enjoying his top spot unchallenged at 906 points.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, on the other hand, fell from 769 to 756 following a listless return against New Zealand in the final two games of their five-match series. His only notable knock came in the second game, where he notched up 101*, his third T20I ton.
Currently, the veteran opener is ranked third on the list, ahead of South African batting duo Aiden Markram (fourth) and Rilee Rossouw (fifth).
Virat Kohli is the next highest-ranked Indian batter on the chart behind Suryakumar Yadav, at number 14.
With no international T20 action in sight, Yadav is currently committing his franchise duties for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL 2023 season. The cricketer seems to have been struggling in the domestic tournament, as he has registered just 146 runs so far across seven innings at a below-par average of 20.85.
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