Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's 1155-day-old supremacy was dethroned when his compatriot Mohammad Rizwan rocketed to the summit of ICC T20 Rankings 2022 of batters on Wednesday (September 7).
Riding on a sensational form in the ongoing Asia Cup, the 30-year-old Pakistani batter has become the new World no.1 batter in ICC T20 ranking as he is ruling the run charts with 192 in three matches at a strike rate of 128 with two half-centuries to prove his prowess in batting. On the other hand, Babar, who has been pushed to the no.2 spot, hasn't really fired in the tournament so far. Rizwan becomes only the third Pakistan batter to top the ICC T20I rankings 2022 chart after Babar and Misbah-ul-Haq.
He also won the Player of the Match award after Pakistan defeated Hong Kong by 155 runs in a Group A match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Rizwan scored an unbeaten 57-ball 78 in that match with six fours and one six and was also involved in a 93-run stand with Fakhar Zaman.
Rizwan also scored 71 runs against India in the Super Four match in Dubai, although it was Mohammad Nawaz who won the Player of the Match award for his all-round performance.
The 29-year-old Rizwan also played a handy knock against the Men in Blue in a Group A match of Asia Cup 2022.
Meanwhile from India, Suryakumar Yadav is the top-ranked Indian batter in the rankings, being placed fourth after Rizwan, Babar and South Africa’s Aiden Markram. Dasun Shanaka also jumped seven places, up to No.39.
Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, in meantime, moved to 14th after going three places up in the rankings. Virat Kohli has dropped two places, down to 29 after scoring a duck against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Prior to that, Kohli scored a half-century against Babar Azam’s Pakistan.
In other big movements in the batting chart, Pathum Nissanka has gained one spot to move up to No.8, after his brilliant run in the Asia Cup. Nissanka has notched up scores of 20, 35, and 52 in his last three matches, with his latest performance helping Sri Lanka beat India in a Super Four encounter.
Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz is one of the biggest movers, gaining fourteen spots to No.15, driven by his 84 against Sri Lanka in the Super Four clash.
