ICC T20I Rankings: KL Rahul jumps to career-best second spot
Following his all-round heroics against New Zealand, KL Rahul has climbed to the second spot in the latest ICC T20I Rankings for Batsmen. His tally of 224 runs in five T20Is which also included two fifties, catapulted him to his career-best position. While Pakistan's Babar Azam is still leading the charts, Rohit Sharma occupies the tenth spot. Virat Kohli is at the ninth spot.
The latest ICC T20I Rankings
Rahul, Kohli and Rohit enter the top 10
There are three Indians in the top ten as skipper Virat Kohli stands firmly at number nine with 673 points after scoring 105 runs from four T20Is against New Zealand. Besides, New Zealand batsmen Kane Williamson (23rd to 16th position), Tim Seifert (77th to 34th) and Ross Taylor (50th to 39th) have moved significantly in the rankings for batsmen.
Indian bowlers gain significantly in the bowling rankings
Following a terrific outing with the ball in the final T20I against the Black Caps, Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has gained 26 places to reach 11th position. The likes of Yuzvendra Chahal (30th), Shardul Thakur (57th), Navdeep Saini (71st) have also moved up. Pakistan bowler Shaheen Afridi has surged from 72nd to 39th position. Rashid Khan remains the number one bowler.
The three-match ODI series starts on Feb 5
Having routed the Kiwis 5-0 in the T20I series, Team India would be aiming to clinch the upcoming ODI series. However, Rohit Sharma's injury could pose a massive challenge for the opening slot as the right handed batsman has been a vital cog at the top. Apart from skipper Virat Kohli, the batting order will yet again be dependent on KL Rahul.