India’s talismanic batter Suryakumar Yadav reaches new career-high in latest ICC rankings

Dubai [UAE], February 1 (ANI): The accolades continue to roll in for Suryakumar Yadav as the India dynamo and world’s best T20I batter reached a new career-high rating on the updated ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.

Suryakumar reached the rating of 910 points after he stroked quickfire innings of 47 during the first match of India’s ongoing series against New Zealand in Ranchi as the exciting right-hander maintained his healthy lead at the top of the T20I rankings for batters. While Suryakumar played a more composed knock of 26* in the second match of the series, the 32-year-old dropped back to a total of 908 rating points as a result.

He will have an opportunity to improve on his record in the third and deciding match of the series in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. It also means Suryakumar remains within striking distance of England batter Dawid Malan in the race to hold the highest rating of all time for Men’s T20I batters.

Malan achieved a rating of 915 points in Cape Town back in 2020, but Suryakumar now holds the second-highest rating of all time for T20I batters following his recent heroics with the willow.

He claimed the top ranking for current batters while scoring a total of 239 runs from six matches at last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and only last month was deservedly named the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year. While just how high Suryakumar can rise dominates much of the interest surrounding the latest set of T20I rankings, a host of New Zealand players have been the biggest movers on the updated charts for both batters and bowlers.

New Zealand opener Finn Allan jumps eight places to 19th on the list for batters, while teammate Daryl Mitchell improves nine spots to 29th overall following his unbeaten half-century in the opening match against India.

But it is perhaps fellow Kiwi Mitchell Santner that has made the most eye-catching move, with the all-rounder impressing with both bat and ball in India.
Santner top-scored for New Zealand with 19 in the second match of the series and has been economical with the ball while collecting two wickets with his valuable left-arm orthodox spin.

The 30-year-old jumps up two places to ninth overall on the latest list for T20I bowlers and is also rewarded with a five-spot rise to 23rd on the updated rankings for all-rounders. There was little movement on the ODI rankings this week, although exciting England pacer Jofra Archer re-entered the charts for bowlers at 35 following a successful return from a long-term injury against South Africa.

But it has been South Africa that have dominated the first two matches of that ODI series, with skipper Temba Bavuma and top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen among the stronger performers for the Proteas thus far. Bavuma hit a brilliant century in Bloemfontein’s second match of the three-match series and duly improved a massive 27 spots to 49th overall on the latest list for ODI batters.

It was van der Dussen that contributed a century in the series opener and that has helped the right-hander close the gap on Pakistan skipper Babar Azam at the top of the ODI rankings for batters. Van Der Dussen’s rating improves from 766 to 795, meaning Babar’s lead at the top is down to just 92 rating points on the second-placed South African.