Suryakumar Yadav just misses No. 1 spot in T20 ranking, loses position to Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan

Team India batter Suryakumar Yadav’s sensational run with the bat took him to the No. 1 position on the ICC T20 batters ranking on Sunday (October 2) but failure with the bat in the third T20I on Tuesday (October 4) means that he is back in the No. 2 spot when the ranking was officially updated on Wednesday (October 5) behind Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter. Suryakumar smashed a whirlwind fifty in the second T20I in Guwahati which took him to career-best 854 points in the T20I ranking and Rizwan’s failure in the seventh T20I meant he slipped to second spot.

The Mumbai Indians batters remained No. 1 batter for 3 days till Wednesday (October 5) where Rizwan has moved back up to No. 1 with 854 points while Suryakumar now has 838 points in second place, ahead of Pakistan captain Babar Azam in third with 801 points.

Captain Rohit Sharma, former skipper Virat Kohli and opener KL Rahul all slipped down 1 position each since Sunday, ending at 16th, 15th and 14th place respectively.

The race for top spot in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters is heating up

Details https://t.co/V4Wvk0Cbhv — ICC (@ICC) October 5, 2022

Here are Top 5 batters in ICC T20I rankings…

1. Mohammad Rizwan – 854

2. Suryakumar Yadav – 838

3. Babar Azam – 801

4. Aiden Markram – 777

5. Dawid Malan – 733

Suryakumar Yadav, who was named Player of the Series for his 119 runs, including two half-centuries, from three matches, said, “Haven't thought about Australia just yet but it's a challenge am really looking forward to.”

When asked if he knew he hit 50 sixes this calendar year, he said, “I’m not a stats man, but my friends keep sending me stuff on WhatsApp.”

India opener KL Rahul jumps seven spots to 14th on the updated list on the back of his 108 runs from two matches against the Proteas, while South Africa trio Quinton de Kock (up eight spots to 12th), Rilee Rossouw (up 23 places to 20th) and David Miller (up 10 spots to 29th) were also eye-catching movers.

Reliable top-order performer Dawid Malan rises one spot to fifth after a consistent series for England against Pakistan, with team-mate Ben Duckett (up eight spots to equal 24th) also on the improve.

The spin-dominated top 10 has a new entrant, with South Africa tweaker Keshav Maharaj jumping seven spots to 10th overall following an impressive series against India that netted the 32-year-old four wickets at an economy rate just greater than seven.

India veteran Ravichandran Ashwin jumps a whopping 28 places to 20th overall, while England seamer Reece Topley improves nine spots to 14th following five wickets from four matches against Pakistan.