New Delhi, October 1 (HS): India’s explosive opener Abhishek Sharma has created history in the ICC Men’s T20 International Player Rankings. Crowned ‘Player of the Series’ in the Asia Cup (UAE), Abhishek has achieved the highest-ever rating points for a batsman in T20I history.The 25-year-old left-hander amassed 931 rating points, surpassing the previous record of 919 set by England’s Dawid Malan in 2020 by 12 points. He reached this milestone after scoring 61 runs against Sri Lanka.
Abhishek finished the tournament with 926 points, 82 clear of England’s Phil Salt, who is ranked second. He also played a magnificent knock of 75 runs against Bangladesh.India’s Tilak Varma continued to hold the third position after scoring 28 rating points with unbeaten innings of 49 against Sri Lanka and 69 against Pakistan.
Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka entered the top five following his century. Among others, Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan climbed 11 places to 13th, India’s Sanju Samson rose eight places to 31st, and Bangladesh’s Saif Hassan jumped 45 places to 36th.In the bowling rankings, India’s Kuldeep Yadav leapt nine spots to claim 12th place after grabbing four wickets in the final against Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi rose 12 places to 13th, Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain moved up six places to 20th, India’s Jasprit Bumrah climbed 12 spots to 29th, and Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz improved five places to 41st.
In the all-rounders’ category, Pakistan’s Saim Ayub reached the No. 1 spot for the first time, overtaking Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, Nepal’s Dipendra Airee, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi, and India’s Hardik Pandya. Airee remained fourth, gaining five more points to reach 214, which is 27 points fewer than Ayub.
Among Nepali players, Dipendra Airee jumped 10 places to 72nd in the bowlers’ list.Lalit Rajbanshi also rose six places to 51st, while Asif Sheikh gained three spots to 77th following Nepal’s historic series win over the West Indies.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
