After two match-winning efforts with the bat in the Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan has climbed to the summit of the T20I batting rankings. He displaced skipper Babar Azam, who is enduring a lean patch in the continental tournament in the UAE.
Attaining career-best 815 points, Rizwan has become the number 1 T20I batter for the first time in his career, ending Babar Azam’s reign at the top, which stretched for 1155 days in all. Rizwan is only the third Pakistani to become the numero uno T20I batter after Babar and Misbah-ul-Haq, who was at the top for 313 days, between April 2008 and February 2009.
Rizwan replaces skipper Babar Azam to become number 1 T20I batter for the first time
In three games in Asia Cup 2022, Rizwan has helped Pakistan win twice with big batting contributions: 78* off 57 against Hong Kong in the group stage followed by 71 off 51 against India in Super 4s. With 192 runs so far, Rizwan is also the top run-getter in the competition as of Wednesday, prior to Pakistan’s match vs Afghanistan.
Mohammad Rizwan has been in thunderous form since being promoted at the top of the order in the shortest format. Since the start of 2021, the right-hander has amassed a total of 1541 runs in 33 matches at an average of 73.38 and strike rate of 133.76. His runs tally in this period is the highest and his average is the most among batters who have played at least 15 innings since the start of 2021.
Pakistan captain and Rizwan’s opening partner, Babar Azam, slipped to number 2 after his scores of 10, 9, and 14 in the Asia Cup.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli make progress in ICC T20I rankings
India captain Rohit Sharma slammed 72 runs off 41 balls in a defeat against Sri Lanka, and with that knock, he moved to the 13th position, up by four places.
Senior India batsman Virat Kohli jumped 6 spots to move to the 29th position after his 44-ball 60 against Pakistan which followed scores of 35 and 59* on his comeback.
Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed 68* off 26 balls against Hong Kong, is India’s highest-placed T20I batter, at the number 4 position.
