ICC Rankings: Rashid Khan becomes top-ranked T20I bowler, displaces Hasaranga
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has become the number one bowler in the ICC T20I Rankings. He displaced Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga at the top in the latest rankings released by the ICC on March 29. Rashid led Afghanistan to a historic 2-1 T20I series win against Pakistan, earlier this week. Notably, Afghanistan now have three players inside the top 10 (T20I Rankings).
First Afghanistan captain to claim series win against Pakistan
Although Afghanistan lost the final T20I, they beat Pakistan 2-1 in the series. Rashid, who led the Afghans, became the first Afghanistan captain to claim a series win against Pakistan. Prior to the series, Afghanistan had never won any international game versus Pakistan. The two sides met in four ODIs and three T20Is before, and the Men in Green emerged winners every single time.
Rashid also topped the rankings in 2018
This is not the first time Rashid has become the number one T20I bowler. He reached the pinnacle in 2018 too. Rashid now owns the top spot with 710 rating points. SL's Hasaranga follows him with 695 points.
A massive feat for Rashid
Rashid attained a massive feat in the 3rd T20I. He bowled his 100th successive ball without conceding a boundary in T20Is. The hosts lost the match by 66 runs, with Rashid bagging figures worth 1/31. His streak got snapped as he conceded two sixes.
Third-most wickets in T20Is
Rashid is the third-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. He has taken 129 wickets in 80 T20Is at an incredible average of 14.58 so far. The tally includes two five-wicket hauls (BBI: 5/3). In June 2018, he became the fastest bowler, in terms of time taken, to take 50 wickets in T20I cricket. He reached the milestone in two years and 220 days against Bangladesh.
Fazalhaq Farooqi rises to third
Rashid's teammate Fazalhaq Farooqi took five wickets in the Pakistan series and finished with an economy rate of just 4.75. The left-arm seamer gained 12 spots to third in the latest rankings. Meanwhile, spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman occupies the eighth spot on this list. As stated, the latest rankings for bowlers include three players from Afghanistan.
